


Pull of the Tide

by sara_merry99



Category: Riptide (TV)
Genre: Multi, Threesome - M/M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-04
Updated: 2016-04-04
Packaged: 2018-05-31 03:49:31
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 24,498
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6454195
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sara_merry99/pseuds/sara_merry99
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"Adding me to your relationship, on whatever basis, could cost you everything ...I'm not that selfish."</p>
            </blockquote>





	Pull of the Tide

**Author's Note:**

> Catyah and arouette were with me from the moment of the conception of this story right through the entire process. I wouldn't be in the fandom without them and I wouldn't have seen the story all the way through without them. ::hugs:: Thanks, sweethearts!! luna_61 did a wonderful beta and helped me get this thing out the door. Thanks!

# Pull of the Tide

"Umm, guys," Murray said, looking from one of his friends to the other as they flanked him on the settee in the Riptide's salon. "It's not that I don't appreciate the thought because, I really, really do. But it just wouldn't work."

He shrunk into himself as Cody and Nick looked at each other over his head, sharing information without saying a word. They'd been lovers for years and friends for longer than that, so they could share volumes in a glance. He felt left out by that, of course, outside a window he could only ever look through, but their silent communications also made him happy. Happy for them, because so few people ever got to experience that kind of connection. Happy for himself, because he alone was permitted to look through that window. Nick and Cody had something rare and special. Something that wasn't for Murray, much as he longed for it. 

Lost in his reverie, Murray was surprised when Cody whispered, "You understand that there's more to this than..." Cody stroked from Murray's knee up his inner thigh toward his groin, his hand a living flame, "just this." 

Murray's eyes widened in disbelief. If it wasn't just...he shivered both at the thought and at the hand hot on his thigh. Stopping that hand's upward travel took all the willpower he possessed, but he knew that if he didn't end this now...sighing, he pushed Cody's hand to safer territory. Finding his voice, he said, "I...okay. I guess." More than just...? He knotted his shaking hands together in his lap. That left a lot of ground. He wanted everything, wanted to be inside that window, part of the warmth there, always. Even if they were offering more than one night of fun, there was no way they wanted him the same way he wanted them, not when they already had each other.

Cody sat back, taking his hand entirely away. Murray stifled a whimper, and focused on Cody's words, "I don't understand the problem then, Boz...Murray." 

Murray looked from Cody to Nick, watching him intensely from a little over a foot away. Murray offered a smile but got no response except a hooded stare, so he turned back to Cody, "Look, I..." He paused for a minute wondering what to say. How to explain himself and if he even should. When Cody began to look impatient, he said, "There's information on relationships like...that out there." He swallowed. "Statistically, the odds would be hugely against it working out. It's very risky. Triad relationships only survive past the first year in about three percent of cases. Far fewer survive past the fifth. More often than not, adding a third, on even the most casual basis, destabilizes the primary relationship." As soon as he spoke he regretted the words. He was being stupid. They were offering...what? More than sex Cody had implied, but that didn't mean they wanted forever, or even a whole year. It didn't matter--there was no way he could survive being the third wheel in their relationship.

Nick leaned forward, his attention a knife. "You researched this? Researched us?" He was openly incredulous. Maybe angry? 

As he stood and moved across the room, needing some space to catch his breath, Murray said, "Not in any way that could be traced back to you or Cody. Of course. I wouldn't endanger you guys like that." The other two looked at each other again, but Murray continued, without a pause, "I just wanted..." He looked down and shook his head. 

"You wanted what?" Nick asked, voice a little more gentle, maybe not angry after all.

Murray forced himself to stand still in front of them and not bolt down to his computers. He wished he could summon the strength that had carried him through his court-martial. "It's not important. I wanted some answers and I got them."

"When?" Cody asked, blue eyes shining in the late afternoon light. Murray blinked at him, waiting for an explanation. After a few seconds, Cody asked again, "When did you do the research?"

Murray shrugged his shoulders and wished he had something to look at other than them. But he couldn't take his eyes away from the two gorgeous men in front of him. When Cody opened his mouth to prompt him again, Murray winced and said, his voice fainter than he'd hoped, "Just before I left...you know, Col. Litvak..." 

Before Murray finished speaking, Nick was on his feet, standing right in front of him. There was no looking at even Cody now, just Nick right there, so close he couldn't see anything else. "That was over a year ago, Murray. A year." Murray nodded, silent. "You've wanted, what, both of us for that long?" Murray nodded again, and focused his gaze on the ribbon of tanned skin visible through Nick's open shirt. "And you didn't say anything?" Nick's voice was loud and hard.

Murray's head snapped up and he met his friend's eyes, "Of course, I didn't say anything. What was there to say?" He pushed his glasses up his nose and sighed. "What you and Cody have is too..." he took a deep breath, "special to risk. Adding me to your relationship, on whatever basis, could cost you everything." He finally managed to pull himself free of Nick's gaze and looked out the window. Sunset. Nice. "I'm not that selfish."

Muscles tense, Nick stood there for long enough that Murray figured the conversation was over. He nodded to himself and turned to leave. That was that then. Before he could take a step, Cody asked, "Do you love us, Murray?"

Murray didn't turn around, but he did nod. It was not something he could deny, even if he should. 

"Both of us? Equally?" Was that Cody again? Or Nick? Maybe both of them speaking in turn. Murray wasn't sure.

"Yes." Murray heard movement behind him, but didn't turn.

He jumped when he felt a hand on his shoulder, burning even hotter than Cody's had on his leg. Nick? Another hand touched his arm. Murray closed his eyes and froze. He could feel his heart racing in his chest; the words tachycardia and fibrillation chased each other through his mind, not lingering long enough to distract. 

He started again when he heard a voice, undoubtedly Nick's this time, though lower and darker than Murray'd ever heard it before, murmur in his ear, "Do you want us?" 

Murray swallowed and nodded involuntarily, his throat completely closed off. 

A finger trailed along the soft skin at the back of his ear. The hand on his arm slid down his arm and he could see that it was Nick's hand, dark and rough from work, stroking the back of his wrist, his hand, his fingers. He closed his eyes, swaying toward them before he caught himself. "Both of us?" Cody, voice as golden as his hair, asked in his ear. 

Murray shuddered at the proximity of the men he wanted so much, the honeyed words, honeyed voices, honeyed touches he'd dreamed of, been dreaming of forever, and found just barely enough voice to whisper, "Yes. Oh, yes. Equally." 

The silence behind him lasted a beat too long, and in its pulse Murray found the strength to lean away from the touch on his neck, the breath in his ears. "But I'm not that selfish." Without a backward glance, he fled to the comfortable darkness of his room. 

He had lied to them for the first time ever. What was keeping him from accepting the invitation to join Nick and Cody in their bed was knowing that when morning came and he was alone again, he'd never recover from it. He would lose everything, his best friends, his home, his job, a life he loved. He'd be left with nothing. 

He wasn't selfish enough to let Nick and Cody risk their relationship, true. But he couldn't take too much credit, because he was selfish enough not to let them take that risk with him.

*****

After Murray disappeared into the darkness of his room, Nick turned to Cody shaking his head. "What was that?" 

Cody took Nick's hand and drew him away from the stairs to the far end of the salon. Voices carried on the Riptide and he didn't want Murray to hear that they were talking about him. Once they were seated again, he said, "That was Murray Bozinsky scared out of his mind." Cody turned to face Nick, resting a hand on his bare shoulder. "We terrified him."

"How? What did we do? Because, Christ, he's wanted us, both of us, for.... Jesus. Since before Litvak, Code, and he never let on. A year. I didn't have any idea until a couple of months ago." Cody made a murmur of agreement; that was about when he'd noticed a change. It was after a really bad case--Nick and Cody had both taken some serious knocks and Murray'd spent a couple of days taking care of both of them. He'd noticed something in those brown eyes then, a spark of interest, of tenderness, that he thought was new. Nick continued talking, not aware of Cody's distraction, "...didn't know. When did our Boz learn to keep secrets like that? From us?" His voice was rising and Cody put his hand on Nick's shoulder. "And then he just walked away. What did we do wrong?" Nick put his hand on Cody's and Cody squeezed until he felt the muscle relax. 

"I don't know," Cody said, and shook his head, trying to settle his thoughts. "He wasn't only scared for us though." 

Nick leaned back into the corner of the settee and laid his head back, eyes half closed. After a moment's thought, he said, "What do you mean?" 

"Well, what he said. He said that he wouldn't let us risk our relationship, even if we wanted to, right?" At Nick's nod, Cody went on. "But that doesn't account for..." He waved at the dark stairway. Still dark. Murray hadn't turned on the lights downstairs? He was just sitting down there in his room, alone. Damn. They definitely needed to do something, he just wasn't sure what yet.

Nick's eyes opened. "No, you're right. It doesn't." He pushed himself up straight. "What if we went about it wrong?" 

Cody nodded, and said, "Maybe we did. He hasn't just wanted both of us for a year and a half. He's loved us both for at least that long. You know that right?" Nick groaned his agreement and Cody went on, "We were coming onto him, Nick, strong. Both of us. What if he thought..."

Nick's eyes lit up and he said, "What if he thought we just wanted sex? Just wanted him as some sort of extra?" 

"I know I told him that it wasn't about that, but by then he was already pretty upset." Cody said, running his fingers through his hair. "We didn't think about how it would look to him." 

Nick sagged back against the seat again, eyes closed, knee twitching with restless energy. "So what do we do? Do we march down to his room and let him know that we love him?" 

Shaking his head, Cody said slowly, "I don't think that will solve everything ..."

Nick didn't open his eyes, but asked, "What do you mean?" 

"Let's try looking at this from his point of view. We made a move on him tonight. Together. If we go down to his cabin, we'll be telling him we love him. Together," Cody said, leaning forward with his elbows on his knees.

"We agreed on that, though," Nick said. "That was the plan, so he knew he wasn't coming between us. Right?"

"Right," Cody agreed. He and Nick had been planning this day for weeks, discussing how best to approach Murray with their offer. From the moment they realized that they both wanted to bring Murray into their relationship, they'd known that they had to talk to him together. Otherwise he'd think he was coming between them, and then he'd be off the boat and out of the agency in a heartbeat. Gone. That couldn't be allowed to happen. Cody wrapped his hands around the back of his neck, and groaned. After a moment, he said, "But how would you feel if you were him? Being invited to join someone else's relationship."

Cody looked over his shoulder at Nick and saw the wince when the question hit home. "Like a guest," Nick said. "Always like a guest. Welcome, maybe, for a while anyway. Never part of the family." 

"Exactly," Cody said, standing and offering a hand to Nick.

"Crap." Nick took the offered hand and Cody pulled him to his feet. "Any ideas on how to deal with that?" he asked as they stood facing each other, hands still clasped together. 

With a quick kiss, just a brush of their lips, Cody said, "Show him he's part of the family. But to do that I think we need to back off a bit." He headed toward the stairs to Murray's room. "He needs more than sheet wrassling," Cody said with a grin and a punch to Nick's arm.

They weren't trying to be quiet as they went down the stairs, but when they got downstairs, Murray was focused on his computer, alternately reading and typing. He hadn't heard them coming, so Cody took a moment to look. Until he knew Nick wanted the same thing he did, Cody hadn't allowed himself to do that and it still felt like a forbidden pleasure. 

Murray's long fingers eased over the keyboard with graceful, spare movements. Imagining the touch of those hands on his body, Cody felt himself getting hard. He imagined that deft touch on his chest, his nipples, his cock. God. Even better was picturing Murray's hands on Nick, pale against the olive skin, twining with the dark chest hair. He shivered and adjusted himself in his khakis. Nick turned to look at him and Cody nodded at Murray. Nick gestured toward Murray's hands on the keyboard and smiled. Of course Nick understood. He always did.

*****

Intent on his computer, Murray was startled by a cough and a knock on his door frame. He jumped and turned to the open door. He couldn't see much, but there was no doubt it was Cody and Nick. "Umm, hi, guys," he mumbled. He'd known they'd come down after him eventually, but he still didn't know how he felt about it.

Nick and Cody looked at each other, just visible in the gloom, then Nick asked, "Can we come in?" 

"Sure. You can turn on the light if you want. I just..." He sighed. "I just didn't mind the dark."

The light came on, flooding the room with a golden glow that hurt Murray's eyes. When he was able to focus again, Nick stood next to his chair, hand on the back of the seat. Murray bit the inside of his lip and looked down at the arm of his chair. 

"Murray," Nick said, taking Murray's hand, "come on, sit over here. I feel like I'm looming."

With a smile, Murray said, "You are," and he let Nick pull him out of the chair and over to the bed next to Cody. He took a deep breath and tried very hard to avoid thinking about the fact that he was sitting on his bed with the two men he'd been dreaming about for ages. "Maybe upstairs," he said, waving toward the door with an obviously shaking hand.  
Cody shook his head, "Nah. This is fine. You'll be okay, I promise." He took a deep breath. The pause lasted so long that Murray wondered if he was really about to say something. Finally, Cody said, "I think we handled this badly. You've got an idea in your head about what's going to happen," Murray opened his mouth to speak, but Cody shook his head and kept talking, "and, from the way you're reacting, I'm pretty sure you're wrong."

Murray was processing Cody's words when Nick said, "Look, you're feeling pressured here, and I'm sorry about that. I'm sorry we moved so fast. We just," he looked sheepish, "we just didn't want to wait." He gave Murray a half-smile. "No more pressure, though. We'll stop here." 

Cody stood, saying, "Don't think this is the end of it or that we're giving up. Tonight is only the beginning. We're going to keep showing you what we want. Okay?" He took Murray's curled hands from his lap, and kissed each of them, a soft brush of lips and mustache that made every inch of Murray's skin feel brand new. 

Unable to think of a single thing to say that he wouldn't regret later, Murray just nodded. Cody slipped out of the room and Murray turned to Nick, who leaned toward him.

The kiss started soft and gentle, and built with slow intensity. Nick deepened the kiss, then backed off so that he was licking Murray's lips, then went in deep again, his hands buried in Murray's hair, holding him at just the right angle. Murray's hands gripped the back of Nick's shirt, bunching up the fabric. 

After all that had happened, this was their first kiss, Murray thought, maybe their last. He never wanted it to end. Of course it had to, though, all things do; Nick swiped his tongue across Murray's lips, making both of them sigh in unison, before pulling away. He smiled at Murray and said, voice deep and rich, dark chocolate to Cody's honey, "We'll be waiting for you, Murray. No matter how long it takes." 

Too stunned, too aroused, to speak, Murray watched as Nick walked out of his cabin. He heard him talking to Cody as they walked up the stairs and wanted to go after them. He couldn't remember why he'd said no to them in the first place. He groaned and shifted around so that he was lying in his bed, propped up on his pillows. "Great work, Bozinsky," he muttered to himself, "for once you manage to think with your big head, and it gets you nothing. Absolutely nothing." He shook his head, and touched his lips, still able to feel Nick's kiss and, more faintly, Cody's there. 

He played back every kiss, every caress, every whispered word they'd given him, as he stroked himself to a shattering orgasm that left him shaken and sad. He wanted them so badly, but he didn't want to be the third person in their relationship, always an afterthought, only welcome when invited. That would be intolerable and he knew it. Hours passed before Murray was able to escape his thoughts and fall asleep. Even then his dreams were filled with the memory of whispers in his ears and phantom touches of fire all over his body, teasing and arousing him. 

****

Nick went up to the galley the next morning to find Murray slumped over the coffee machine, his head propped up against the wall. One eye was closed against the light and his hair was squashed flat on one side, standing up straight on the other. He hadn't even slipped on a robe; he was just wearing his plaid boxers and a rumpled t-shirt. He looked like an extra from _Day of the Dead_ and Nick thought he was absolutely adorable. _God, it must be love_.

With a kiss to Murray's temple, Nick said, "Morning, Boz. How's the coffee coming?"

Blinking, Murray stammered, "Umm...I," he rubbed his eyes and peered at the coffee maker, "I guess it's almost done. I'm sorry, I must have dozed off waiting for it." His brow was creased in confusion. 

In the process of getting out mugs for the both of them and pouring two cups of coffee, Murray touched the place that Nick had kissed twice. Nick smiled into his coffee. 

After Murray'd finished his first cup of coffee and both eyes were focused and tracking, Nick asked, "So what are your plans for the day, Murray?"

"I was planning on doing some, ah, research," Murray said, with a wave in the direction of his cabin. "On the computer. Just until our new client gets here. That's today right?"

"Research?" Nick asked. He wrapped his hands around his coffee cup, trying to hold onto the warmth and hold off the tension he could feel building. 

"Yeah." Murray looked down, into his cup of coffee, and said, "It...it occurred to me last night, after we...talked that the research I did on..." his voice trailed off for a second then he went on, "well, ah, I probably was looking for the wrong things, the wrong search parameters. So it seemed like it would be worthwhile to look again..." He went quiet and rubbed his temple again. "Unless I, I mean, unless the offer..." 

"The offer will always be good, never doubt that," Nick said, rising slowly and taking his mug to the sink to wash it. "But what if you get the same answer? What if you shake the computer like a Magic 8-Ball and it gives you an answer like 'My sources say no', Murray? What happens to Cody and me then?" He could hear his voice rising and took a deep breath, drying his mug furiously. He managed to keep enough of his cool to set it gently into the drying rack before turning around to face Murray, who was looking at him open-mouthed. "Do you just throw away...," his voice gave out on him, so he tossed the rag onto the counter, and trotted downstairs to where Cody was still sleeping. 

Despite his best efforts to be quiet as he changed into running shorts and got his shoes out of the closet, Cody woke with a sleepy mumble. Nick said, "Shh, Code. It's me," hoping that the blond would go back to sleep

It didn't work. "Nick? What's up? Everything okay?" Cody asked, voice muzzy.

Nick sat on the bed, his running shoes dangling from his hands. "No...Yeah, it's ok..." he couldn't make himself finish that sentence, couldn't lie to Cody. "I'm kinda upset and I don't want..." He sighed. "I'm going to see if I can run it off. Be back in an hour or two. Go back to sleep, okay?" He pulled on his running shoes and leaned in and gave Cody a kiss on the cheek.

A few seconds later he was back in the salon. Murray still sat at the table, looking like it'd take more than coffee to get the stunned look off his face. Nick thought about saying something, but couldn't think of anything that would help. So he waved goodbye and took off for his run without a word. The last thing he saw as he jogged off the pier was Murray, staring at him through the window of the salon. 

He set a harder pace than he normally did, running fast along the road outside King Harbor, pushing himself. Trying to outrun his anger at being so helpless. His heart, his future, was in Murray's hands. He loved Cody, there was no questioning that, but he also loved Murray. He loved the three of them together, eating breakfast and laughing over the comics in the newspaper, solving cases, hanging out in the salon after dinner. He wanted more than just the companionship they already had, he wanted the more that came with commitment and romance and love. Damn it all, he wanted everything. Cody and Murray both. 

Murray, who was back at the Riptide right now doing research. God knew what kind of research he could do on the computer about this. Knowing Murray he'd probably hacked into some master relationship database that no one else in the world knew about and was asking it about average durations of three-person relationships and a statistical analysis of the most likely reasons for relationship failure. And was getting back, what? "Outlook not so good." Crap. He started running even faster, turning toward the high school stadium. Step running. Hard, intense, distracting. That was the kind of workout he needed. 

****

A few minutes after Nick took off for his run, Cody found Murray in the salon, knees drawn up to his chest, hands wrapped around an empty coffee mug. Cody sat down next to him and put an arm over his shoulders. "You okay?"

Nodding, then shaking his head, Murray said, "No. Maybe. I don't really know. I think Nick's mad at me and I don't really know what I did. But he just..." he waved at the door. "What did...?" he looked at Cody, confusion all over his face.

Setting Murray's mug on the phone table, Cody took Murray's hand and started massaging it. "I can't tell you why Nick's upset. You need to talk to him about that."

Murray turned and looked toward the door, "I told him I wanted to do some more research today, maybe try some new search parameters. Nick got mad and started talking about Magic 8-Balls or something. Then he...left." His voice trailed off and he looked toward the door again, as though expecting to see Nick back already.

_Ah._ "Well, you need to talk to Nick, Boz, really. I can't answer for him, and I wouldn't if I could." Murray's hand was totally relaxed in Cody's, but it wasn't clear he was even aware he was getting a massage. He just kept staring out the window toward the pier. Cody squeezed a little harder, pressing a knuckle into a tight spot in the base of Murray's thumb. Murray yelped in surprise and looked down. Cody held onto his hand when he yanked it away, saying, "Hey, your hands are really tight, let me do this." 

Murray nodded and flashed a little smile at him, forehead wrinkled in confusion. "Okay. Thanks, Cody." 

Cody looked down to hide his smile and went back to work. As he was working out the last of the kinks in Murray's right hand and preparing to move to the left, Cody said, "Do you suppose you could put off doing that research for a day? The client's coming in a few hours and the Ebbtide's engines need some work. I could really use your help, if you're willing."

Murray stammered, "Umm, really? You really want my help? Because I don't mind...umm...well...if you're sure. I don't know much about boats though."

Cody hit a particularly tight spot on Murray's hand, drawing a gasp, then said, "You know the difference between a wrench and a screwdriver, right? Anyway, you probably know more about the theory of engines than Nick and I put together." He finished up his massage with a gentle squeeze of both of Murray's hands between his then stood and pulled his friend to his feet. "Don't bother with a shower. We're going to be changing the oil and replacing the impellers. You'll be getting greasy." He brushed a quick kiss against Murray's cheek. "Go on, get dressed. Unless you want to go out there in your boxers." He grinned at Murray's blush as the slim man jumped and scampered down the stairs. 

****

Out in the sunshine, they set up the tools and supplies in silence. When Cody climbed into the engine compartment, Murray asked, "Is he upset because I...well...because I did that research? I didn't do anything that could be traced back to me or to you guys."

Cody shook his head. "Hand me the 3/16ths wrench would you." When Murray put the tool in his hand he applied himself for a moment to his work, then said, "You really need to talk to him about what's bugging him." Without looking away from the nuts he was loosening, Cody said, keeping his voice neutral, "I'm a little hurt by the fact that you thought about it, thought about us, and didn't feel like you could say anything about what you wanted. Did you think we'd be mad?"

Murray shook his head, "No, no. I just thought about what it would be like, all three of us..." Cody had to apply himself diligently to his work to hide the fact that Murray's words, his deep blush, were enough to turn him on. Not noticing Cody's distraction, Murray continued, "And then I found out that I..." He stopped suddenly and Cody wondered what he wasn't saying. After a pause, Murray went on, "I found out that it's not likely to work, so it's better to keep what we have, right?"

Setting the greasy impeller aside, Cody said, "Just because it doesn't work for other people doesn't mean it won't work for us." He put the new part in position. "Here, hold this while I tighten the nuts." Murray reached over his shoulder and put his hand where Cody indicated, his long fingers wrapping around the part and holding it firmly in place. Cody breathed deeply, salt air, engine grease, and Murray, a good combination. "You didn't trust Nick and I, and you didn't trust the three of us. That...hurts, you know?" Cody winced internally at having revealed so much--too much of himself was out there now.

Murray's fingers twitched on the part and Cody carefully didn't look at him while he worked, didn't want to see what Murray was feeling at that revelation. "I never...I didn't...oh. I'm sorry. I didn't think you'd ever know. I never wanted...that." 

Cody did turn to look over his shoulder then. Murray was still and silent, a lost look on his face. From the way he leaned away, Cody was sure that if he weren't holding the impeller in place he'd have retreated, to the other side of the boat if not all the way to his computers. "Damn it, Mur, whatever you're afraid of, we wouldn't do that. We won't. Trust us."

Blushing brightly, Murray said, "I...ah, I'm sor...no. Umm. I just didn't, just don't want to be...ah, to do anything to hurt..." He looked down at his hand and gave himself a shake. "Can I let go now?"

Reminded of the immediate project at hand, Cody looked at the impeller they were installing. It was bolted in enough now that Murray could let go without it being a problem, but Cody didn't want him running away. "Not just yet. One more bolt, then we can start on the other one." Murray nodded, disconsolate. Cody took pity on him, saying, "I know you don't want to hurt us. I appreciate it, and I know Nick does too. It'd be nice to get a little say in the matter, though. But let's stay focused on these engines, or we won't be done with the work before we have to clean up."

"Yeah, okay." Murray said, still looking a shaky. 

Half an hour later, Murray was taking a break, leaning on the side of the boat sketching something on a scrap of newspaper. Cody watched him subtly, peeking under his arm as he worked on replacing the second impeller. Murray hard at work on a problem was a picture of intensity, concentration peering through thick glasses. Completely focused. Beautiful. As Cody watched, Murray pushed his glasses back up with a greasy hand, smearing his face. Cody smiled. If only Nick were there, things would be so close to perfect. He turned back to his engine.

"Hey, Boz, hand me that 3/16ths again, would you?" Cody said, extending a hand. Murray handed him the wrench without looking up from his notes. "What'cha got there?"

"You have a full racing cam in your engines, right? That makes sense, good for power at full throttle, but not as good at lower speeds." Cody nodded, eyebrows raised; Murray had his full attention now and Cody turned to look. When he said that Murray probably knew more about the theory of engines than he or Nick, he didn't realize how much he did know. "I bet if we modified the cam here," Murray pointed at the page with a dirty finger, leaving a smear that he tried to wipe off, turning it into a large grey smudge, "you could get better performance at lower speeds." Murray looked up, dark grease standing out against the paleness of his cheeks.

Cody climbed out of the engine well and leaned over Murray's shoulder, close enough that his breath was moving Murray's dark brown hair. He said, "Can you draw us up some better plans? It looks like we'll need a custom part." He reached around Murray to point at the most smudged part of the drawing, leaning against the slender back and brushing Murray's arm with his own.

Murray, voice faint, said, "I, ah, yeah. You're...yeah. I think we can get the part from, umm, a friend of mine. He has a machine shop and I could...," his voice faded away. Cody could see and feel Murray shaking, like he was fighting a battle with himself. Cody took a deep breath, inhaling Murray's scent deep into his lungs. He almost licked the sweat off the back of Murray's neck--he wanted the taste so badly his mouth was watering. From the way Murray was shaking, he was prepared to swear that Murray wanted it too. About to risk Murray's reaction, he was stopped by a voice drifting across the harbor. The girls were out in force on the _Barefoot Contessa_ , polishing the brightwork and swabbing the decks. The couple who owned the sailboat in the next slip down waved when he looked their way. _Damn._ He groaned and waved back.

"That'd be great," he said, his voice thick with desire. He stepped to the side, squeezing Murray's shoulder as he went. 

When Murray looked up at him, Cody smiled and extended his hand. "Hand me that pump, will you? We need to get the old oil out before we put the new oil in." Murray ducked his head as he grabbed the hand pump; the back of his neck was flushed red. "Okay, I'll do the pumping, you just make sure the oil goes into that bucket." 

Nick returned from his run a few minutes later, looking exhausted and no less stressed than he had when he left. He stopped on the decking next to the Ebbtide and said, "How's the oil change going, guys?"

"We're almost done," Cody said. He looked over his shoulder at Murray who was staring at the dwindling flow of oil from the pump. Damn. _Those two seriously need to talk._

"Client's here in less than an hour," Nick said, checking his watch. "I'm going to catch a quick shower then make some lunch. Any preferences?" Though the comment was addressed to both of them, Nick was looking only at Murray. "I was thinking grilled cheese." Cody nodded at Nick's choice. Murray's favorite.

Murray said, "I'll make some tomato soup to go with that, Nick. Thats a good idea." His voice sounded almost normal, at least he was trying, and Nick relaxed a little in response. 

"We'll be done here in ten," Cody said. The pump was gasping out the last sputters of oil. Nick waved in answer and disappeared onto the Riptide.

Once the oil was out of the oil pans, completing the oil changes was just a matter of minutes. Working together Cody and Murray quickly replaced the oil filters and poured in the new oil. "Hey, Mur, thanks for your help," Cody said, "Nick's probably out of the shower by now. Why don't you get yours while I'm stowing the tools? I'll just be a minute." 

Murray squared his shoulders, and said, "Okay. Thanks, Cody." He paused before stepping onto the pier. "Depending on how things go with our client, maybe I can work on the drawing for the new cam tonight. The sooner I get it to Bill..."

Cody smiled. "When your friend makes the part, we'll take off a few days for testing and fine tuning. It'll be fun." _So much for Murray's research. Good._

****

Nick was still in the shower when Murray got back on the boat, so, after washing the worst of the grease off his hands in the galley sink, he went to his stateroom. Forgetting about the shower and the client, he lost himself in work, setting first to rendering his design into the computer. Fortunately he'd taken all the measurements for this while he was working with Cody earlier. 

He was working hard, concentrating on the computer, so he was startled by the knock at his door. Nick stood in the doorway. "Hey, Murray, the shower's free and lunch will be ready soon." His shoulders sagged as his gaze flickered to the computer. 

"Come check this out, Nick. This is really boss!" Murray said. "I'm setting up this simulation I think you'll be interested in." He could tell he was hurting Nick and he hated doing it, but he just couldn't do what they wanted. 

Shaking his head, Nick said, "Nah, that's okay. I really don't want to see why we can't..." 

Before Nick could finish, Murray interrupted him, "No, no. Cody and I were redesigning a part for the Ebbtide. Come look." He stood up, offering his chair to Nick. "Sit, you'll be able to see better." 

Nick walked into the room, approaching the computer warily. When he saw the line drawing on the screen, he sat down. "What's this?"

"It's a new cam. We think she'll have more power, for towing or carrying large loads, at low throttle and more speed at high throttle." Murray leaned over Nick's shoulder pointing out the modifications one at a time. "See this new angle here should give it better movement." He kept himself back, despite the weight of Nick's presence drawing him in like gravity. He was not going to allow himself the pleasure of leaning against Nick's back; it wouldn't be fair to either of them. "These grooves will reduce friction, so it should be a lot more efficient."

"You really think that'll make a difference, Boz?" Nick asked.

Murray nodded and leaned forward again, clicking a few keys on the keyboard. It almost seemed that Nick was leaning toward him, trying to make contact. The drawing on screen began to rotate slowly along it's axis as they watched, and he went on, "I'll program in a couple of simulations, to make sure that the excess of power doesn't burn up the engines. That would be bad." 

"Cody'd never forgive you if you wrecked his boat," Nick said. Murray twisted so he could see Nick's face, unable to resist looking at the smile he could hear in his voice. "If I can help you with any of this...," he said, "I'm no good with the computers, but I might be able to help..." Murray found himself watching Nick's lips as he talked, losing the thread of the conversation in the memory of kissing those beautiful, full lips. He knew there must be some reason why he was resisting them. He just couldn't remember what it was. 

Murray jerked away, forcing his eyes to the computer, and said, "When I program the simulations, I'll need some measurements from the engine. I could use your help with that." 

Nick stood. "You just have to ask." With a pat to Murray's shoulder, Nick turned to leave, saying, "Cody's already showered and the sandwiches are on the stove. You better clean up. Unless you want to be meeting our client with grease on your nose." 

Before Nick could leave, Murray asked, eyes fixed on the computer, "Nick. Why don't you want me to do research on...ah...on the other...well, frankly, on the three of us? You got so upset about it earlier."

Murray turned to see Nick standing sideways in the doorway, his forehead against the wall. Without moving, Nick said, "You do what you need to do, Murray. I mean that. If that's what it'll take, you go for it. But I just hate that you could..." His voice trailed off. Murray was afraid that he would leave without finishing the sentence, but Nick finally went on, "A bad roll of the dice and it could be all over, we could be all over. And we never had a chance." Nick looked up and his eyes pierced Murray to the bone. "Maybe we were wrong about how you feel about us. Maybe I was wrong." He turned and walked away. From the stairs Murray heard, "Shower, now, Boz. Lunch'll be ready in 5."

Murray sat stunned for several seconds. It sounded like Nick really wanted him. Not as an occasional addition to his relationship with Cody, but for real. And Cody...on the Ebbtide, it had sounded like Cody was imagining... He refused to think about it. He'd made wrong assumptions before. He'd assumed Jody was as interested in him as he was in her and had been dead wrong there. He stood up and grabbed his bathrobe, muttering to himself, "You've never had a relationship, Bozinsky. You've only ever had misunderstandings. They don't want you the way you want them. Remember that." 

****

As he washed the lunch dishes, Murray kept watch for their client. He spotted her as soon as she stepped onto the far end of the pier. It had to be her; the woman clearly didn't belong in King Harbor in her black suit, broad brimmed hat, and high heels. She was curvy, attractive, long red hair gleaming, long tanned legs up to her chin. He stuck his head out of the galley and called up the stairs, "Guys, I see her. She'll be here in a minute or two." From the salon he heard laughter, the friendly bickering of Nick and Cody arguing over who got to chase the girl. 

It was practically a Riptide Detective Agency motto: Chase all the pretty girls you want, just don't catch any. At least it was Nick and Cody's motto. And their cover. He shuddered when he imagined what would happen if Dooley or Straightaway or, worst of all, Quinlan figured out their relationship. Pier 56 was a small community and they couldn't afford to be ostracized from their neighbors or cut off from their one contact with the police department.

Despite the need for secrecy, a need Murray fully understood, they'd told him about their new relationship during their first case. He smiled to himself as he rinsed out the soup pot, remembering his emotions. There was shock, sure. After all, he'd just watched them act like idiots over Kimba Hall. Mostly, though, he was grateful that they trusted him that much. A few weeks after that, Cody told him, "It's easy to avoid catching a girl you're chasing. Very easy. We flirt with 'em all, and have reputations in the harbor as the most persistent, if unlucky, guys in town. It's good cover." Nick'd stuck his head in from the deck then and added, "And it's fun," with a big grin.

Murray shook the memories out of his head as he watched the redhead get directions from the girls on the _Contessa_ and wondered who had won, or lost, the right to act like an idiot over this one. As she got closer, he decided he didn't like the idea of either of them going after her. There had been close calls over the years, times when the chase had been less of a game and more like reality. Even before he knew he loved his partners, those times had scared him, though he thought he was just being protective of their relationship. The woman outside their door looked like she could cross that line. 

He put the pot into the dish drainer and dried his hands as he heard Cody welcome her onto the Riptide. 

****

Even as Murray walked into the room, Jenna Alexander held Nick's gaze. She smiled at him, obivously liking what she was seeing. He smiled back. He said, "Ms. Alexander, this is our third partner, Murray Bozinsky." Murray extended a hand. "Murray, this is Ms. Alexander."

"Jenna, please," she said, her voice a sexy husk. 

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Jenna," Murray said, smiling. "What can we help you with?"

"Shall we sit?" Cody asked. 

To Nick's amusement, Jenna maneuvered them around so that she was sitting right next to him on the bench seat. Cody and Murray were on chairs further away. Technically it was Cody's turn to go after the girl, but Jenna'd taken a fancy to him apparently and he wasn't going to argue about it. A harmless flirtation with a beautiful redhead would be just the thing to soothe his battered ego. 

Jenna pulled a photograph out of her purse and handed it to Nick. It showed a blonde woman, vaguely familiar, with a baby in her arms. "This is my sister, Brenda." Nick passed the picture to Cody, who hid a smile behind his hand as soon as he saw it. She was the first beautiful Brenda either of them had ever seen; he turned his head slightly away from Jenna and smiled, catching Cody's eye. Their client continued, "She's missing." She dabbed at her eyes with a white linen handkerchief.

"Missing?" Nick asked, patting her hand. 

"I recognize her. She's an actress," Murray said when he got the picture. "She was in...wait a minute," he waved his hand to summon the memory, "she was in...got it! _Deadly Swarm_. That was that boss film about killer bees attacking Los Angeles. They show it sometimes on the late show. Remember guys, we watched it a couple of months ago." Nick nodded. Right. That was where he recognized the woman from. Murray turned to look at Jenna. "Her name wasn't Brenda Alexander on the credits though, was it?"

Jenna shook her head, "No. Her professional name is Brandi Collins."

Nick forced a coughing fit as Cody's face turned red with suppressed laughter. When he had breath to speak, he asked, "Not Brandi Alexander?" just to see Cody's reaction. He smiled as Cody choked and coughed, with a glare in his direction. _Gotcha._

Jenna shook her head and dabbed at her eyes again. "No, Momma and Poppa wouldn't allow it. They didn't want the family name spread all over Hollywood like that. We haven't heard from her since she moved out here." She turned big, green eyes on Nick, "I want to find her. Will you help me?" Her white hand fluttered on his arm.

"When did she come out here?" Cody asked, his voice gentle. Nick's eyes were drawn to him as he leaned back, relaxed. Gorgeous. Next to Cody, Murray perched on the edge of his seat, his angular pallor also beautiful, though completely different from Cody's golden glow. Nick looked over at Jenna and her exquisite features. There was no contest at all. It would be fun to flirt with her, but she wasn't what he wanted.

Jenna kept her attention, her gaze, and her hand, on Nick as she answered Cody's question, "Eight years ago." 

"Why do you want to find her all of a sudden?" Murray asked. Nick blinked in surprise. Murray's voice was wrong: harsh and flat. He sounded...Nick wasn't sure. Not angry. Angry Murray shouted and ranted and stormed around the salon. He just sounded...off. Nick turned to look as Murray went on, "If she hasn't contacted you or your parents in eight years, maybe she doesn't want to be found." 

Putting his hand on Murray's arm, Cody said, "Murray's got a point, ma'am. We don't want to invade her privacy." 

Jenna wrung her handkerchief in her hands as she looked up at Nick, eyes pleading. "Momma passed away two Decembers ago. We sent Brenda a letter then to inform her, but it was returned unopened. Poppa...passed...last month." Dab, dab. "She's in the will. Momma wanted her written out, but Poppa never did, I guess. It'll never clear probate if you don't find her. I'll..." She broke off her sentence and hid behind the white linen. Nick comforted her with a hand on her shoulder, sliding it around her back when she leaned into him.

Murray asked in a monotone, "Who's the child in the picture?" 

Jenna scowled, and sat up straight again. "That's my daughter, Alissa. She doesn't even remember her Aunt Brenda." Her voice broke on the last words.

"Where are you staying, Jenna?" Cody asked, as she delicately blotted her eyes yet again.

"At the Mariott in Beverly Hills." 

Nick raised an eyebrow. People who lived, or vacationed, in Beverly Hills were normally out of the Riptide Detective Agency's league. "If you don't mind me asking, why did you choose us?" he asked. 

Jenna fidgeted gracefully. "She left Rhode Island with her boyfriend, Judson Hall. Completely unsuitable, you understand. He was..." She looked Cody and Murray over with a dismissive glance, then said to Nick, "Well, from your advertisement, you seemed like you'd be just the right agency to find someone with rather low associates. Not that I thought you'd be..." she faltered, "like that, of course, but you just seemed so...competent. Like the best choice." 

Nick snorted. Low associates indeed. Cody spoke quickly, forestalling Murray's angry response, "We have enough here to get started with. We'll call you at your hotel when we have some information for you." 

The interview over, Nick escorted Jenna off the boat. As he was helping her over the step from the boat to the pier, she asked, "You do think you'll be able to find her don't you, Nick?" She rested her hands on his chest, her body brushing against his. Nick gave her hands a squeeze. "Don't worry, Jenna. You've given us a lot of information. We'll call you when we've got something."

She pulled her hands away with a caress, then opened her little black purse. She extracted a folded check and handed it to Nick. "This should cover the first couple of days."

Nick pocketed the check without looking at it. "It'll be fine. I'll call you soon." 

****

"She gave us a check for the first couple of days, guys," Nick said, as he entered the salon. Cody looked up from his notes as Nick took the check out of his pocket and unfolded it. Frowning, he passed it to Cody. 

Taped to the front of the check was a note that read, "Meet me in the lobby of my hotel at 11pm tonight." The check was made out for one thousand dollars. Cody's whistle drew Murray away from the coffee machine, and he passed both papers to him.

Cody turned to Nick. "What's with the note? Did she write it while you were out there?"

To his surprise, and Nick's, Murray spoke first. "No, she didn't have time. I was... She must have written this before she got here. It wasn't necessarily directed at Nick." He dropped the note and check on the table. "I don't like this, guys. I don't like her."

Surprised, Cody asked, "Why not, Boz? Did you see something?" It wasn't like Murray to be suspicious.

Murray set his coffee down on the table and walked to the window, then back to the top of the forward stairs. "She wasn't crying. She kept dabbing at her eyes, but she wasn't crying. I don't think she cares about her sister at all. Brenda's been missing for eight years and Jenna's just looking for her now?" 

Nick's nod was thoughtful. "You've got a point. But she came this close," he held his fingers up, "to saying that she wanted Brenda just to get Poppa's will through probate."

Enthusiastic now, Murray said, "Yes, yes. Exactly. She just wants to find her sister so she can get the family money. She's probably counting on Brenda refusing her inheritance. If Brenda doesn't refuse, Jenna may bump her off so she gets everything. We could be setting Brenda up."

"Woah. Slow down." Cody held up his hands. Murray didn't normally take an instant dislike to someone, and his imagination needed to be reined in. "Hey, now, Mur. We don't know any of that. She's paid us a lot of money to ..." Murray snorted and was about to speak but Cody went on, "Look, regardless of Jenna's motivations, I think we should try to find Brenda Alexander, Brandi Collins."

Nick reached out for Murray, but he was pacing around the salon, agitated and graceless. Dropping his hand, Nick said, "Let's find Brenda and ask her if she wants to see her sister. If she doesn't, we'll give her the number of the lawyer handling the estate instead."

Mollified by the compromise, Murray said, "As long as we talk to Brenda before we let Jenna know where she is. I guess that's okay." He looked at his watch. "It's too early for me to get on the satellite. How do we want to start?" He walked back to the window.

Nick said, "Well, can we find out what company made that movie... _Killer Hive_ was it?. They might know how to get in touch with one of their actresses." He started pacing as well, walking a different path through the room. Murray's agitation was contagious and Nick had clearly picked up on it. Cody was feeling restless and edgy as well, but the room wasn't big enough for him to walk as well. 

A smile flickered over Murray's face as he turned at the top of the stairs, " _Deadly Swarm_. _Killer Hive_ wasn't nearly as good. We should be able to find that out easily enough just by calling the TV station."

With precision timing, Cody stepped forward to block both of their paths. He put one hand on Murray's arm, the other on Nick's shoulder, trying to ground and calm them both. "I'll do that." He wanted to remind Nick and Murray how well they worked together, so he suggested, "Why don't you two see what you can find out about Jenna Alexander?" 

Murray's eyes went wide. "You're going to look into our client?" he asked, surprised. Nick smiled at Cody from his position slightly behind Murray. Apparently he understood Cody's plan. 

Nick put his hand on Murray's other shoulder, saying, "Of course we are, Boz. You don't trust her."

Murray beamed and Cody wished that Nick could see his smile. Did Murray just assume that he would be ignored or overridden? Since he'd joined the agency, his instincts as a detective had been getting better and better. He thought they'd told Boz that they valued his intuition as much as his computers, but apparently he needed more reassurance. 

Cody couldn't help but smile with Murray grinning in front of him. "Yeah. We trust your instincts. I'll call the TV station and the production company from Straightaway's. And I'll see if I can track down this Judson Hall, though until we can check the DMV records that's a long-shot. You two start on Jenna Alexander."

Cody's exit was stopped by Murray asking, "So what are we going to do about that note? Is Nick going to go to her hotel?" Cody turned back; Murray was staring carefully out the window at the water. 

Cody looked at Nick, who shrugged unhelpfully. "Well, let's see what we learn today before we decide that. We've got hours. It might be a good idea, though, just to see what she has in mind."

"You guys can tell that's some sort of set-up, right?" Murray asked, his face pinched again.

Nick nodded. "Sure we can. But we want to know what she's up to." He looked at Cody, his green-blue eyes worried. Something about Jenna had thrown Murray completely off balance; it wasn't like him to be cautious. Cody smiled, trying to reassure both of them. Maybe Nick couldn't see that Murray was just jealous, but he could. Surely it was a good sign. 

****

Nick definitely had hopes, hopes completely unrelated to their case, for his afternoon spent gathering information with Murray. He wanted to know why Murray kept saying "No" when it was obvious that he wanted them. He wanted to show Murray what he felt. He wanted another kiss. His one taste of Murray had whetted his appetite; he longed to kiss him again, slow and unhurried. 

None of that happened. Murray stayed focused on the case, hunting down information about Jenna Alexander and her family with singled-minded determination. Conversation was limited to what they'd just learned and who they should call next. 

Nick was relieved when Cody returned from Straightaway's. As soon as he walked into the salon, Cody said, "No luck with Judson Hall. But I didn't try every town in LA county either. The production company that made _Deadly Swarm_ went under about three years ago. We've got an appointment with one of the other actors, Shaun Stoker. He played the fighter pilot. We'll see him at eight at Coconut Hill in Hermosa Beach."

"Why didn't you talk to him on the phone?" Murray snapped.

"I didn't actually speak to him. His agent set up the meeting. I didn't know bad actors in bad movies had agents. What did you guys find out?" Cody asked, looking at both of them. 

Nick looked to Murray, waited a second for him to speak, then, when he didn't, said, "Murray did most of the work. I just took the notes. Jenna told the truth about her father's death. He died alone at home and was in apparently good health, so they did an autopsy. The coroner ruled natural causes. Heart condition."

"It sounds suspicious to me." Murray said, finally breaking in. "Their maid said she didn't know of any heart trouble. I'll look at the coroner's report when I get on the satellite in a few minutes. It should be interesting. Momma Alexander died in a car accident in December of '85. Her blood alcohol level was several times the legal limit. The newspaper editor thinks the estate's worth about sixty million dollars. I'll know more when I look at the IRS records." 

Cody whistled. "Sixty million. That's a lot of inheritance. No wonder Jenna's so anxious to get everything sorted out." 

Nick nodded. "Their lawyer, Jonas Haugabook, wouldn't say anything concrete about the will or the estate, of course. When I told him Jenna hired us to find Brenda, he said he'd wire us the money. The estate will cover our fee."

"But Jenna already paid us," Cody said, confused.

Murray jumped in, "Yeah, Nick and I were curious about that too."

Nick nodded. "He said the estate would pay us directly and to tear up Jenna's check. He's overnighting us the paperwork Brenda needs to sign." Nick put his fingers on the check, still sitting on the salon table. "Should I?"

Simultanteously, Cody and Murray said, "Not yet." Cody went on, "Wait until we get the money from the lawyer. Why didn't he have Jenna bring the paperwork?"

Murray looked at them with his jaw set. "She never asked him for it. That's not why she's here. The maid said Jenna's getting a very small allowance out of the estate until probate is settled. Very small. She was surprised that Jenna could afford to fly out here and stay at a place like the Mariott." 

"I guess small to someone who stands to inherit sixty mil doesn't mean the same thing it would to one of us," Cody said, with a smile, "Jenna's not eating rice and beans." 

Cody leaned back in the settee, while Nick got coffee. After a moment of silence, Murray said, softly, "So...ummm...what are we going to do about that note. Is Nick going to...?" His voice trailed off. 

Nick slid into the seat next to Murray, moving close. Maybe the assignation with Jenna was what had been bothering him all day. "Would it bother you if I did?"

Murray blushed and stammered, "No...no. Of course not. If it doesn't bother... I mean, no. I just think it's going to be some sort of trap and I...I'd rather we all went. It'll be dangerous."

Nick pulled Murray close, pleased when he settled into the crook of his arm. It was only for a second though, then Murray pulled away. "Look, Mur, I want you to wire me for sound and put one of those things on me so the Roboz can track me. If we all go in, we'll all be caught in the trap if there is one. If I go in alone, you and Cody can get me out if there's trouble. You know that."

Murray said, "Yeah. I just don't..." He turned to Cody. "Maybe it would be better if Cody went. He might have more in common... Or I could..." He looked up at both of them; when neither of them said anything, he checked his watch. "I should be able to get on the satellite now... So I'll just go and, ah...see if I can find us some information...umm...an address for Judson Hall. And the coroner's report on Thomas Alexander. Maybe I'll get lucky and get an address for Brenda." As he spoke, he crossed the room to the stairs. His final comment floated over his shoulder as he descended to his room, "And I'll get that wire and transponder ready for you, Nick."

As soon as the light clicked on in Murray's room, Cody asked, eagerly, "So Nick, how'd it go today? Did you and Murray talk at all?"

Nick slumped back against the seat and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Only about the case." He looked down the stairs, then back at Cody. "He's jealous of Jenna, I'm not just imagining that. Right?" When Cody nodded, he went on, "I guess that's good. But he still doesn't want to be with us. Or if he does he's not saying anything about it." He sighed. "What if we were wrong, Code?"

"We're not wrong, not about how Murray feels. He told us that last night." Cody sat down next to him. "It's got to be good. He's never minded any of our girls before. I think he's upset because Jenna's obviously taken quite a shine to you." He paused, for a full second, "He's right about her, I think. Something's definitely fishy there." 

He looked at Nick for so long that Nick became self-conscious, finally saying, "What? What are you thinking?"

Cody leaned in and kissed him slow and soft, hand resting gently on Nick's cheek. "I just...be careful tonight, okay? Murray's nerves may be getting to me, but..." Nick pulled Cody back into their kiss, trying to reassure. Everything was always so good, so uncomplicated with Cody. 

After a few minutes, they broke apart and Nick cupped Cody's cheek, mirroring Cody's gesture, "I'll be careful. But with the two of you backing me up, what can possibly go wrong?"

****

Murray was glad that Nick and Cody didn't immediately follow him to his room. He thought they might; a traitorous thought whispered that he even hoped they would. They weren't abandoning him, he assured himself, they probably just wanted to give him some time to calm down and stop acting like an idiot. His embarrassment at suggesting that Cody see Jenna in Nick's place was especially acute. If she was really dangerous, and he still thought she was, then he was throwing Cody to the wolves and he couldn't bear the thought of either of them being hurt. A lot of his sense of menace about Jenna came from her hands resting so familiarly on Nick's chest, Nick's arm around her shoulders. He knew that. What would happen to him, to Cody, if Nick fell for her? 

He shook his head to clear the useless mental spiral. It's not like he had any reason to think it was likely to happen, except that she was beautiful. Nick had shown himself able to resist beautiful women plenty of times. He was probably the best at it of the three of them. 

Murray forced his mind out of its loop and was working intently when Nick and Cody came in about twenty minutes later.

"How's it goin', Boz?" Nick asked, leaning over Murray's shoulder, one hand on the back of his chair, the other on the table next to the keyboard. 

The smell of Nick's soap and cologne and skin almost made Murray whimper, but he kept his eyes on the computer screen. "Well, I've got an address for a Judson Hall. He's up in Burbank." He pointed to a pad right next to Nick's hand. "I got a phone number as well. There were a few J. Halls as well, but we might as well start with this one." 

Nick passed the pad to Cody, who said, "I'll go call. You keep working, Mur."

Nick's presence, his heat, was a distraction and a temptation, and Murray had to force himself to stay focused on work. Murray said, "I can't get the autopsy report on Mr. Alexander until morning. Apparently the Coroner's Office turns their computers off at night. That's so lame." Tired of fighting temptation, he moved his hand off the keyboard toward Nick's. Just a little touch, he promised himself, nothing to make a big deal of. Nick probably wouldn't even notice. "It's really just not necessary at all. The surge of electricity through the motherboard is really very hard on the computer. Much more wearing than leaving it on all night. Phosphor burn-in on the monitors is a legitimate concern but...," he said, the words tumbling out without thought. He was babbling on autopilot, as he moved with calculated casualness so that the edge of his hand was brushing Nick's. 

Nick stroked the back of Murray's hand with his thumb. Murray stopped talking. _Oh. Oh, God._ Nick leaned closer and said, "Okay, Boz. I got that it's a bad idea to turn the computers off. What else did you find?" He caressed Murray again, his rough thumb gentle.

It was a second before Murray could speak at all, "Ah, I found..." he took a deep breath and licked his lips, then started again, trying not to sound like an idiot this time. He had to be able to talk coherently about what he'd found or they'd never really want him. "I found out that Brenda Alexander legally changed her name to Brandi Collins about two years after she moved out here. Unfortunately, there are several Brandi Collinses in the LA area, so I sort of lost track of her at that point." That had all sounded good. Smart and sensible. He took another deep breath. "I've got addresses for three different wo..." Nick stroked his hand again and Murray stopped talking, unable to gather any thought beyond "please more".

Nick finally broke the silence, "Good. That's good. Was there any other information about Judson Hall? Police record or anything?"

"Ah, I hadn't gotten that far," Murray said, blushing. He should have thought of that on his own. Probably would have if his brain wasn't completely screwed up by thinking about Nick and Cody. He'd been able to handle his emotions when he was convinced his desires were completely impossible. Now there was a glimmer of hope, and it was breaking him. Nick and Cody wanted something with him. It even sounded like what they wanted was a lot like what he wanted. Only that was just wishful thinking. Impossible. _Guys like them don't fall for geeks like you. Especially when they already have each other. It just doesn't happen. Time to wise up._

While Murray was chastising himself, Nick moved his hand away, with a long parting caress. Murray came back to the reality of his situation with a suppressed sigh. "Let me see what I can find." Under Nick's gaze his fingers were clumsy on the keyboard, mistyping and correcting everything. 

While he was working Cody came back, saying, "Well, Judson Hall in Burbank wasn't at home. We'll try him again later."

Nick showed Cody the lists of addresses of the Brandi Collinses, one in Hollywood, one in Santa Monica and one in the heart of Watts. Cody had the list in his hand to go upstairs and make more calls, when Murray said, "Judson Hall doesn't have a police record. Hang on for Brandi Collins." 

While they waited, Nick said, "I wonder what made Judson Hall so very unsuitable to the Alexanders."

Cody answered, "He probably didn't have sixty million dollars. Did you manage to check out IRS records yet?"

"That's next." The computer screen flashed as new data appeared, and Murray said, "Here's an arrest record for a Brandi Collins. She was busted for soliciting a few years ago. It says she did six months in jail."

"I bet that's the one in Watts," Nick guessed.

"Nope, Santa Monica. She was picked up in LA though." The computer beeped. "That's not the one we're looking for anyway. The description is of a black woman. So she's eliminated. Want me to keep looking in LA county records for Brandi and Hall or start in on the IRS records?" He looked over his shoulder.

Cody and Nick looked at each other, then Cody said, "We have to leave in less than an hour to make our meeting with Shaun Stoker. Find out what you can about the Alexanders."

Nick nodded his agreement and added, "And you need to get the wire and the tracer ready for me."

Murray turned back to the computers. "This'll take a while, guys. I'll start the search going then get the stuff for Nick. Pack up the Roboz while I'm getting what I can here, okay?" 

****

"Guys, I better go," Nick said, checking his watch. "I don't want to keep her waiting." He checked his hair in the rear-view mirror then got out of the Jimmy. 

Murray stared at Nick as he walked away. Cody smiled. He could see tension radiating off his friend in vibrating lines, like heat haze on a desert highway. Definitely jealous. "Come on in, Mur. Sit down. We'll be monitoring from right here." 

Murray climbed into the truck, picking up the audio reciever. "Do you want to use the earphones or the speaker?" He kept his attention focused on the box on his lap, adjusting dials. 

"Speaker. Those things hurt my ears," Cody said. "When we need 'em, that's one thing. But when we don't..."

He was interrupted by Nick's voice, scratchy and distorted, saying, "Sound check, wave if you can hear me." Nick was at the entrance to the parking lot. Cody stuck his hand out the window and gave a thumbs up.

Out of the corner of his eye, Cody saw Murray wave furtively, his hands still in his lap. Nick couldn't possibly have seen but it was still a welcome sign of progress, even so. Only his confidence that things would work out was keeping him from feeling as frustrated and hurt as Nick. 

Murray continued to wave until Nick had rounded the corner of the hotel. After he stopped, he gripped the receiver, his fingers restless on the box. Cody's eyes were drawn by a long index finger tracing around the slowly blinking light that was their sign that the transmission was active. Murray broke the silence, "I'm sorry about the way I acted earlier, Cody. I'm just worried."

Cody put his hand on Murray's shoulder, feeling the edge of his collar bone through his corduroy jacket, "Nick can handle himself."

Murray nodded without a word, keeping his head down. Cody wished he he could get a look at Murray's face so he could read the emotions written there. He rubbed the bony shoulder. Murray put his hand over Cody's squeezing a little. 

_Oh, yeah._ Cody was about to pull him close, maybe sneak a kiss while they were waiting, when Murray jerked his hand away. He stammered, "I...I, ah, programmed something new into the Roboz." He knelt on the seat so he could look into the back of the truck, where the robot beeped quietly to itself. "He's recording the information from the transponder. So we can play it back later if we want." Cody slid his hand up under Murray's jacket, imagining the texture of his skin. Murray vibrated under his touch, but kept talking. "I don't think we'll need it this time, we don't, ah, we don't...Oh...oh..." Cody stroked from collar to belt in a smooth glide, absorbing the strength of the slender ribcage, the trembling in the flat belly. The fact that Murray's words died in a stuttered gasp just made it better. 

Murray stayed still, breathing hard, but he didn't pull away from Cody's caress. The silence was filled by the senseless chattering of the receiver, broadcasting the background hum of the busy hotel lobby. Murray took a deep breath and asked, "Cody, can I...can I ask you a question?" He turned around in the seat so he was facing Cody, perched awkwardly.

Not willing to give up their contact, Cody rested his hand on Murray's knee. "Sure, Mur, of course."

Murray looked down at his hands, twisting in his lap. The chattering radio almost drowned out his soft question, "Why?" Cody raised his eyebrows, unsure what was being asked, unsure even that he had heard correctly. Murray explained, "Why me? You and Nick have so much together. Why do you want to add someone? I don't..."

Murray was interrupted by Jenna's voice crackling through the radio. "Nick, I'm glad you came. Where are Cody and...?" 

Murray turned quickly at the sound of her voice, dislodging Cody's hand and plopping back into the seat. He put the receiver between them like a shield. Cody shook his head. Hadn't they been clear enough? They wanted him in their relationship, in their family, didn't he understand that? He looked over at Murray, who sat just far enough away that touching him would be awkward. It seemed so simple to him. And to Nick. Why was it hard for Murray?

"Murray and Cody aren't here," Nick said, his voice smooth, "I thought the invitation was just for me. If I was wrong, I can call. We can have a drink while we're waiting for them." His voice was warm, flirtatious, sexy. Cody smiled; Nick was sexy cooking breakfast, when he worked at it he was devastating.

"No, no. This is perfect," Jenna purred. "I was hoping you'd come alone."

There were some muffled noises, distant voices and movement, then Jenna said, "Let's go up to my room, shall we? I'm nervous."

"Nervous, why?" Nick asked. Cody could hear warm concern in Nick's voice. They joked about Nick not being good with people, but all it took was for him to make a bit of an effort.

"After I left your boat this afternoon, I was..." Jenna was interrupted by a ding and a woosh. Elevator. "I was approached by some of Brenda's less savory friends."

"You were?" Nick's voice went from velvety smooth to sharp. "Judson Hall?" 

Jenna didn't answer right away, but Cody heard a ding and another woosh followed by indistinct voices. Obviously there were other people on the elevator with them. Thirty seconds later, the clutter of voices disappeared in a ding and Jenna said, "No, not him. But they said they were her friends. Why should I doubt them?"

"What did they want?" 

"They wanted me to stop looking for Brenda. To go home. They called her Brandi." Jenna's answer was overlaid by a click and the sudden end to all the background noise. Cody guessed that they'd gone into her room. Murray's hands clenched into fists as he reached the same conclusion. 

"How did they know you were here?" Nick asked. Cody heard rustling. Was Nick taking off his windbreaker, sitting on the bed, what? 

"I should have told you this earlier, but I didn't want your friends to think I'm stupid. I sent Brenda a letter telling her when I was coming out here. I sent it to the last address we had for her." Jenna's voice got louder as she talked; obviously she was getting closer to Nick. "I honestly didn't think she'd get it." She was so close now it sounded like she was in his lap. There was a creak. Bedsprings probably.

"That still doesn't explain..." Nick started, his voice a little thick. 

"I told her where I'd be staying and to look me up. It never occurred to me that she'd send her awful friends to scare me."

There was more rustling, then Nick's voice, gentle and soft, "They didn't hurt you, did they? Should you change hotels?"

"No, they didn't hurt me," Jenna said. "I was just scared." Cody could picture her leaning against his strong chest, looking vulnerable and fragile. He closed his eyes. "I'm just afraid they'll go after you, Nick."

Nick chuckled. "I'll be okay. Don't worry about that." His words were followed by more rustling, very near the microphone. Cody bit his lip, hating the idea of her long red fingernails against Nick's olive skin. On the other side of the cab, Murray took a deep breath.

"I would be devastated if anything happened to you because of me," Jenna said. Her words ended on a soft sigh, followed by wet noises and a hum from Nick. Cody clenched his teeth, he knew that hum. They were kissing. Definitely kissing.

After a few moments, Nick asked, voice rough, "You're sure you want to do this? We could wait until after the case is settled and we find ..." 

Even as Nick spoke, there was more kissing, soft pecks interspersed between the words, words which trailed off into sighs. In his mind's eye, Cody could picture them together, one of Nick's hands in Jenna's red hair, silky strands between his fingers, the other arm wrapped around her slender waist, holding her close. He could picture Nick's face, eyes closed, lips wet, the flicker of tongues. It was how Nick kissed. God. 

His own hands were clenched into fists, just like Murray's, and Cody wondered if he was shaking as hard as his friend. He uncurled his hands and rubbed the tension out. He knew this had happened before, and would have to happen again. It was their cover after all. But he'd never before had to listen to Nick, **his** Nick, with someone else. He closed his eyes for a second. 

Next to him, Murray slouched in his seat with his knees pulled up, shoulders bunched around his ears as though he could block out the sounds that way. A particularly loud moan made Cody wince, then wince again as Murray groaned and hid his face. Cody leaned across the receiver and put his hand gently on the back of Murray's head to reassure him. _Nick knows where the line is. Right?_

He was just about to say that, when Jenna said, "This may be our only chance, Nick Ryder. I'd hate for us to let it slip through our fingers..."

Nick whispered, "Yeah, I'd hate that too." 

The unmistakable sound of a zipper tore the air. The wire was under the waistband of Nick's slacks, surely he wouldn't risk her finding that. Murray unwound from his ball in a series of fast jerks and opened the door of the Jimmy. "I've got to...ah...I can't..." He was outside the truck and pacing, door closed, before he got out a complete sentence. Cody looked at him in the side mirror. He was paler than normal with fierce red spots on his cheeks.

Cody slapped his hand on the steering wheel. There was keeping up appearances and gathering information, but this was going way too far. Murray took another turn beside the truck, clenching and unclenching his fists as he paced, his movements angular and awkward. _If I find out you're doing this to make Murray jealous, Nick, I'll...._

His angry thoughts were interrupted by Nick, murmuring through the haze of passionate sounds. "Beautiful. Just beautiful." Cody gritted his teeth, glad Murray wasn't in the cab to hear that. _Damn it, it's time to make your excuse and go._ "It must have been so hard for you growing up with Brenda." His voice was soft and caring, but at least the obscene noises stopped, thank God.

"How do you mean?" Jenna asked, confusion clear in her voice.

"Well, it must just have been so hard for you to know that as lovely as you are, she was the pretty sister." Nick's voice was seductive, charming, belying the words. Cody rubbed his face with his hands; that was definitely Nick's exit line. _Finally._

As expected, Jenna's voice got shrill, "I can't believe you said that." Cody heard the noise of fabric rustling. Gathering up clothes? How far had Nick taken things anyway?

"I'm sorry, Jenna," Nick said. Cody could picture the clueless expression on his face. "I didn't mean...but she's a movie star."

"You'd better go. Call me when you find my my sister," Jenna said, amid much movement and bustle. Her words were followed by a decisive click then silence. Nick chuckled. 

Cody stuck his head out of the back of the cab. "Get ready, Boz, he's on his way out." Murray's head snapped up.

Fascinated, Cody watched in the rearview mirror as the tension drained out of Murray's body like water out of a plastic bag. The elevator dinged and rumbled through the receiver as the color slowly faded from Murray's cheeks. The lobby's hum had just started with a woosh of elevator doors when Murray climbed into the truck, looking calmer.

Murray had barely settled when a rough male voice said, "Nick Ryder? Please come with us." 

There was a pause, then Nick said, wary, "Okay. Where are we going?" 

"We just want to have a few words with you. Out back."

Murray turned in his seat so he could see the monitor on the Roboz, blinking Nick's location. "Go out of the parking lot, then right around the building," he said. 

While he started the truck and put it in gear, Cody listened carefully. Footsteps. Lots of them. He tried to count. "Sounds like four, maybe five, guys," he said, pulling out of their parking space into the narrow row. 

A heavy metallic slam was followed immediately by a thud and a groan from Nick. A punch, a hard one. A car pulled out in front of them. _Damn it._

When they were clear, Murray said, voice tight, "Turn left. Head toward that dumpster over there." He pointed to a large shape at the distant corner of the building. 

The first punch was followed by a flurry of blows and groans, most in Nick's voice, but not all. Cracks, grunts, a snap followed by a gasp, a groan. They were almost at their goal when the noises, awful noises, suddenly ended in a burst of static. 

Murray turned off the receiver and dropped it to the floor. "They must have gotten the wire."

Cody hit the gas, gunning the Jimmy's engine so they swung around the dumpster in a squeal of brakes and a cloud of smoke. Five guys looked up at them, blinking against the bright headlights. Nick sagged between two of them, his head lolling forward. Shouting, Cody and Murray piled out of the truck, startling the other men. All five started running toward the staff entrance to the hotel. Released, Nick slumped to the ground. Cody shouted to Murray, "Stay with Nick. I'm gonna get help from..." He didn't finish his sentence, saving his breath for running.

He heard Murray's gasp and a moan from Nick as he ducked into the hotel, then nothing but machine noises and footsteps off to his left. He turned in that direction.

****

Nick wasn't unconscious when Murray got to him, but he wasn't anywhere close to awake either. He lay on the ground, breathing heavily, eyes closed. Murray checked him out as well as he could. A cut on Nick's temple seeped blood into his hair. The knuckles on both fists were split so he'd gotten in some good blows anyway. Nick groaned and Murray ran his hands gently over his torso. There was no blood on the shirt, at least the skin wasn't broken, but even through the cotton Murray could feel patches of heat where there would be bruises the next day. 

The whole evening had been just excruciating. The whole day. He shouldn't have minded listening to Nick with Jenna. When things were normal with them, he understood that it was important that Nick flirt, and even make out with their client. It was an essential part of keeping their relationship, Cody's and Nick's relationship, secret. Knowing was not the same as hearing the kisses, the obscene hums, that awful zipper, though. Hearing had made it all too plain that Nick was enjoying himself, that it wasn't just a game or cover. Murray felt betrayed, used. Stupid. Cody hadn't been upset. Cody sat through it all and listened like there was nothing more exciting than chess going on in Jenna's hotel room.

Nick groaned again and his eyes fluttered open. Softly, Nick said, "Hey, Mur. Where's Cody?"

Murray waved toward the hotel, keeping his face turned away. "He went for help." Nick didn't need to know he'd been stupid jealous. And scared. Terrified of what was happening in the fight, what they'd find when they got to Nick. 

Nick squeezed Murray's hand and asked, "You okay?"

That simple question turned Murray's churning emotions into pure anger. He rocked back on his heels and shook his head, incredulous. "Am I okay, Nick? Am I okay? I'm just fine. I didn't get beaten up by five, let me repeat that, five gorillas because I let my guard down. You probably let your guard down because your brains were all still in your...your...pants after that...scene, that...with Jenna Alexander. Did it turn you on knowing that Cody was listening? That Cody and I had to hear every minute of you making out with her. I bet that's what you were thinking when you took off her dress, I'll just make...Cody jealous here. That'll be good."

Nick rolled onto his side. "Hey, now, Boz. What the hell are you talking about? Yeah, I got beat up. Not because I wasn't paying attention or because Jenna got me turned on. I got beat up because five gorillas surrounded me in the nicest hotel in town. What was I supposed to do? Fight them in the hall? Get arrested? I counted on you and Cody hearing what was up and coming to help before things got too bad. And you did. That's why we have the wire and the backup in situations like this."

"What was with Jenna, then? We heard clothing coming off, zippers," Murray said, arms wrapped around his chest.

One of Nick's wrists gave out on him as he pushed himself to a seated position and he cursed at the pain. Murray reached to help, despite his anger, but Nick waved him off. "She clearly had designs, I won't deny that. I was barely in her room before she started stripping. That zipper you heard was my jacket. That's why I got out of there. At the rate she was moving, there was no way she could talk fast enough to give me any more information before she found the wire." Nick leaned forward, cradling his sore wrist in his lap, his other arm wrapped around his chest. "Why are you so fucking upset anyway?"

Murray jerked to his feet. "Why am I upset? Last night you and Cody asked me...offered...and then twenty-four hours later you're making out with Jenna like, like...and making Cody and me listen to it. Is she going to be the next spice in your love life? Did you and Cody decide that while I was on the computer? Bozinsky won't go along with it, so we'll get a redhead, that'll be different." Murray turned away. 

"What the hell are you talking about?" Nick asked, his voice confused.

Staring out into the darkness beyond the parking lot, Murray said, "I'm talking about you f-fu...Jenna and you. I bet Cody wanted her too. That's why he didn't mind..." His anger was fading, leaving sharp-edged pain. He wrapped his arms around his chest. 

From behind him, Murray heard movement punctuated by pained gasps, but he didn't look. Nick's warmth at his back was all the warning he got before arms wrapped around his waist and Nick said, "I don't want Jenna Alexander, Murray. Neither does Cody. You know better than that."

Murray shook his head and ignored his racing heart. "You...Why not? She's beautiful and I bet she'd be willing. I mean, who could turn you guys down?"

Nick kissed the back of his neck. "Except you," he said sadly.

Murray wrapped his arms tightly around himself. Without his anger he felt like he was going to fall apart. "I don't..." He stopped, unable to finish the sentence. He was misunderstanding something, he was just sure of it. The warmth behind him went suddenly cold. Before he walked away, maybe for good, Murray said, "It's not you, or Cody, okay? But I just find it very hard to believe that you really want..."

Murray was turned around by strong hands. The streaks of blood on Nick's face, black in the orange light, did nothing to hide the tenderness there. "Believe it. Believe us." After an exploratory lick that made Murray's stomach tumble, they were kissing. Nick's lips were firm against his own, hot. Murray parted his lips with a sigh. Humming his pleasure, Nick met Murray's tongue with his own. The feel of Nick's lips, the strength of the hand gripping his hair, the playful dance of their tongues, it was all just...Murray groaned happily. _Yes._

Nick pulled away far too soon for Murray's taste and he opened his eyes to see Nick smiling at him. Murray blushed, and traced the smile lines on Nick's cheek with one finger. He smiled back. Maybe he wasn't misunderstanding them after all. Maybe it was going to be as easy and as beautiful as that kiss. 

His thoughts were interrupted by Cody saying, "God, you two look good together." 

Murray flushed and pulled away from Nick, feeling for a split-second like he'd been caught with his hand in the cookie jar. Then Cody's words sank in, and he remembered that they'd said they wanted him. Cody'd kissed him in front of Nick, right? 

Cody hugged both of them, saying, "It's a good thing I told the hotel detective that he didn't need to come out here. I don't want to share you with anyone else." He kissed Murray, bruisingly intense and quick, a flurry of lips and teeth and tongue that was over too quickly. "Before we take this home, first things first, how are you, Nick? They have an nurse on staff inside if you need to get patched up."

Nick shook his head. "I'm fine."

Murray snorted, indignant, and said, "One of his wrists is hurting, maybe sprained. He's holding his chest; that snap we heard may have been a rib breaking. And he's had a blow to his head, possibly a concussion."

Nick spluttered and said, "Hey, I'm fine. Just a little sore. A couple of band-aids once we get home and I'll be as good as new." He started walking toward the car, both hands at his sides, but he only made it a couple of steps before he stopped with a gasp and wrapped his good arm around his chest. He stopped, but said, "Come on, guys, let's go home. I'll be fine." 

Cody and Murray supported Nick carefully between them and guided him toward the entrance to the hotel. As they walked, Murray said, "We'll get you home soon Nick."

Cody propped the heavy metal door open with his foot. They guided Nick through the door as Cody was saying, "Dempsey has security tapes of all the hallways. He's got someone working on getting us some shots of the guys who grabbed you. He might even be able to get their license plate, depending on where they parked." 

Nick stumbled and moaned, his skin clammy, but he asked, "So we're just going to pick up those photos and go?"

Cody steered them around a corner and through a door, seated Nick on a chair, and said, "Sure. I'll go talk to Dempsey. You two wait here." 

He turned and walked out the door just as the nurse, a soft dumpling of a woman, walked in. "Mr. Dempsey tells me you were in an altercation. Let me take a look at you."

****

The nurse bound Nick's sprained wrist, taped up his broken rib, and gave him a dose of codeine. "I'm not a doctor, Mr. Ryder, so you should consider having your friends take you to the emergency room."

Nick, in a daze from pain and medicine and exhaustion, struggled to his feet, and said, voice fuzzy, "No, 'm fine. Riptide."

The nurse raised an eyebrow and said, "Or not. It's not a bad break and you have no sign of a concussion." To Murray, and Cody who'd just returned, she said, "Keep an eye on him. If he gets worse, take him to emergency."

Murray and Cody flanked Nick, holding him steady. Cody said softly, "Come on, pal. We'll take you home." They got him moving with little difficulty after that. As soon as Cody said the word "home", Nick was limp and compliant.

Nick slept in the back seat of the Jimmy on the way home, his head in Murray's lap. Flashes of light played over his face, orange from streetlights, yellow from passing cars. Relieved and confused, Murray allowed his fingers to follow the stray beams over the beautiful features. With the lightest possible touch, he caressed Nick's forehead and cheeks, slack now where there were usually smile lines. He trailed a thumb over Nick's slightly parted lips, the softness so very good. He wanted to kiss, but contented himself with stroking his own lips with his other hand. There was a tender place where Cody'd caught his lip between their teeth and he touched it again with a soft groan, remembering. 

The truck stopped and he looked up; it was just a stoplight, but he caught Cody's eye in the rearview mirror and jerked his hands to the safe territory of Nick's shoulder. Even that wasn't entirely safe though, because his hands molded to the muscles, cupping the perfect curve, and he wanted to keep that contact forever.

Once back at King Harbor, Cody and Murray carefully maneuvered Nick down to bed. He roused slightly while they were moving, but as soon as he was lying down he fell back into a deep sleep. Murray took off Nick's shoes while Cody took off his jacket and shirt. When Cody started on Nick's belt and pants, Murray backed off and kept his eyes averted, focusing instead on the white bandages at Nick's wrist, chest and forehead, standing out in stark contrast to his olive skin. Dark purpling bruises mottled Nick's stomach and cheek, a different sort of contrast. Murray wanted so badly to touch more, to see if the chest hair was as soft was it looked, if the skin would be as warm. But Nick was asleep, practically unconscious. It just wasn't right. It might never be right again. 

Once Nick was tucked into bed in just his briefs, Cody turned to Murray and said with a wry smile, "I think any hopes we might have had for the evening are going to have to wait, Boz." 

Murray nodded. "I'll just...." He waved over his shoulder toward his cabin at the other end of the boat. He didn't want to assume he would have been welcome here if Nick hadn't been hurt. But he didn't want to offend Cody or make him think he didn't want to stay. It had been so clear when he was kissing Nick, but now it was all confusing again.

From where he sat on the foot of the bed, Cody grabbed Murray's hand. "You can sleep here. If you want. Just sleep, Nick'd be pissed if went ahead without him." 

That didn't tell him what Cody wanted or expected, so he still wasn't sure what the right thing to do was. He looked at Nick, stretched out over nearly half the bed. "He'll sleep better if I'm in my own room, I think," he said, his heart twisting in his chest. "Maybe some other night." He slipped out before Cody could say anything. Before he could make a big mistake.

****

Sunlight sliced through the cabin porthole and Cody woke with a mumbled protest against it. Nick's head was heavy on his shoulder, which made him smile even though his arm was completely numb. With a kiss to Nick's forehead, he slipped his arm out from under his partner as gently as possible, shaking blood back into it as he stood. 

"Whatizzzit?" Nick slurred, his words muffled by the pillow. 

Interpreting the mumble, Cody checked the clock and said, "Nine-thirty almost. Sleep some more."

Nick shook his head, and wiped his eyes with a clumsy hand. "Nah. 'M awake anyway. Couldn't sleep any more." He pushed himself to a sitting position, swearing at his sore wrist as soon as he put weight on it. With his good hand he found the tape over his ribs and the bandage on his forehead. "Damn. That's why I hurt, huh?"

Cody helped him out of bed. "Yep. You got banged up pretty good. Hopefully there's coffee ready and you can take some aspirin." 

Once he was standing, Nick shook off Cody's support. "I'm okay. Stop hovering." 

"Sure you are. A broken rib and sprained wrist are nothing. Hang on." Cody pulled on a pair of soft sweats then helped Nick into his bathrobe. "You need any help up the stairs, old man?" Nick gave him the finger and a smile. Cody chuckled and gestured for Nick to precede him.

With a dismissive wave, Nick walked up to the salon. Seeing how well Nick was moving, Cody breathed more easily than he had since they'd interrupted the assault. _That was just too close._ Relieved, he rested his hand on Nick's lower back, crowding close as they went up the stairs. 

Upstairs they found that the kitchen was empty and dark, as was the salon. He checked the machine in the corner, no coffee. 

They looked at each other. Nick's brow was creased. "When did Murray get up anyway?"

With a shake of the head, Cody said, "He may not be. He stayed in his room last night." Nick wrapped his arms around his chest, anger not pain, and his blue eyes flashed. Cody went on, defensive, "You were unconscious. We didn't want to start without you." 

"I can't believe you let him walk out of our cabin last night. What happened to showing him that we want more than sex?" Cody opened his mouth but Nick went on, "Damn it, Cody! How's he gonna know how we feel if we never tell him?" Nick stopped talking, swallowing down some emotion he didn't want to share.

"I invited him to stay," Cody said, wrapping his arms around Nick's waist from the side. "He was worried about you sleeping well. I couldn't force him. Anyway, I was worried about you, too."

Nick nodded and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Okay. Sorry. But if I know our Boz he's spent the whole night convincing himself that he can't be with us again." 

Cody winced, but said with optimism he didn't really feel, "We'll just have to unconvince him, then." He looked toward Murray's room, "Why don't you check on him and I'll make us some coffee?"

****

At the bottom of the stairs, Nick knocked on the doorframe. Murray held up a finger, requesting a second, typed a few more keystrokes, then, when the printer started chattering turned in his chair. He looked worn to the bone. _Ah, Boz. How much sleep did you get anyway._ Murray looked away and said, "I hope I didn't wake you guys. That printer's too loud, I know. I'll get a quieter one with my next royalty check. Honest."

There was a thick stack of papers next to the shaking printer. Murray'd been hard at work for a while, obviously. "It's okay, we just woke up." Murray turned back to the computer with a nod. Nick walked up behind him and, hands on his shoulders, kissed the top of Murray's head. 

Murray went rigid under his hands, then pulled away and started typing fast and hard. The words flew across the screen so fast, Nick couldn't make out all of them. He caught a glimpse of some familiar names though, Hall and Brandi and Alexander. At least Murray was working on the case, not doing his awful research into why he couldn't be with them. 

Murray pushed the chair away from the desk. "I've got a lot to tell you guys about, let's go upstairs." He crossed to the printer and grabbed up the papers, snatching a couple more as they came out of the machine.

A pain that owed nothing to his broken rib piercing his chest, Nick put his hand on Murray's shoulder. "You okay, Mur? What's wrong?"

Eyes focused on the papers in his hands, Murray said, "I'm...I'm okay. I just couldn't sleep after a while. So I...."

Nick lifted Murray's chin, turning his head so they were face to face. Murray's lips were thin and pale, his eyes haunted. "Talk to me." Murray tried to look away but Nick wouldn't let him.

Murray bit his lip, then said, "I'm okay, really." He kissed Nick's cheek, soft and quick, like saying goodbye. "I've learned a lot about the case. Come on," he said, and ducking out of Nick's hands and heading up the stairs. 

Nick groaned. He wished he'd insisted on going straight home rather than seeing the nurse. Maybe he'd hurt more, but the physical pain would be worth it to have things sorted out with Murray. He groaned and walked slowly up the stairs, arm wrapped around his chest.

****

Once they were all seated at the table with their coffee, Murray said, "The Alexanders reported an income of one million dollars last year. Mostly investment income. Thomas Alexander was also on the board of directors of two companies. I'd say that sixty million is a reasonable estimate of their net worth." 

Pushing two aspirin toward Nick, Cody said, "So the inheritance is definitely something worth fighting for," He looked from Nick, cradling his coffee to his chest, to Murray, hands knotting and twisting in his lap. _Damn._

Jittering like a hummingbird, talking too fast, Murray said, "I did find out one very interesting thing from Providence records. The little girl in the picture, Alissa, is not Jenna's daughter. She's Brenda's. Brenda brought her to California when she moved. Mrs. Alexander's will left everything to her husband if she predeceased him. Everything to Alissa otherwise, with the condition that Brenda come back to Providence and raise the little girl in the family home." 

Cody whistled and took a sip of his coffee. "That provision makes no sense if they don't know where Brenda is." Murray nodded, moving his papers around on the table. Cody hoped it was just an accident that the piles were forming around Murray like a barrier. Keeping himself in, or them out?

Nick stirred some sugar into his coffee, looking at the picture of Brenda and Alissa, then asked, "You're sure about that?" He popped the apsirin into his mouth and washed it down with a mouthful of coffee. 

Murray nodded. "Yes, yes. Once the will is probated, it's public record. There's no way to know about Mr. Alexander's though."

Cody went to the galley and came back with a package of Pop Tarts. He handed out pastries to Nick and Murray, sitting right next to each other and miles apart. So alone. "We also need to find out what happened to Alissa Alexander, then. If Judson Hall was the father that would explain why Momma and Poppa didn't like him. Did you get anything on Hall?"

"I'm pretty sure the guy in Burbank's our man. Eight years ago he lived in Providence. His income last year was $25,000. Listed occupation is car salesman. No criminal record. He filed as single but claimed a dependent," Murray said.

Nick smiled, faint but real. "How much do you want to bet that's Alissa? We really need to talk to this guy. Maybe he'll be home today." He stared at his breakfast with a scowl on his face.

Murray took a bite of a pastry with an enigmatic smile on his face. After a minute, in which both Cody and Nick stared at him, he said, "I've got both home and work addresses. He'll be at work from noon to eight this evening. I called."

Cody reached across the table, disarranging the stacks of paper, and squeezed Murray's hand. "That's all great work, Boz. Anything on the guys who jumped Nick?" 

The smile dropped off Murray's face and he slid his hand into his lap and out of reach. "I...ah, no. I'm sorry, Cody, Nick. The hotel said the detective will be back in at 9:30. I left a message that we'd called." 

Cody looked over at Nick who had his forehead resting in his good hand, then at Murray, who'd gone back to building paper defenses. "Okay. We'll give him a call after we're done with breakfast and our showers." He walked around the table, kissing Murray and then Nick in turn as he passed. Neither of them responded. Nick shrugged helplessly when their eyes met. Cody took a deep breath and said, "Okay, guys, we need to solve this case. Once we do we can figure everything else out." Nick and Murray both nodded without looking at him or each other. 

Murray stood up, tightening his robe. "Take a look at this stuff while I'm in the shower. I've got records on all the Brandi Collinses in LA county since Brenda changed her name. One died a couple of years ago in a car wreck, and one's in jail, but we should be able to talk to the other two. I printed out the coroner's reports for the Alexanders too." He walked to the stairs, saying, "I won't be long."

Cody turned to Nick, who was looking after him, face ashy. "Hey," when Cody spoke Nick turned toward him, "what happened?" 

"I told you, he's changed his mind or something. He was twitchy like that when I got down there. Distant." He rubbed his forehead. "I can't think about this right now. Murray might have been right last night when he said I got jumped because I'm distracted. He's got me so messed up I don't know what to do. Why this is so hard? He loves us, we love him. It should be easy."

Cody wrapped his arms around Nick's shoulders, burrowing his hand under the thick terry robe. He wasn't trying to arouse, he just wanted the comfort of touching skin. "I think Murray's confused too." He tried to remember something Murray said. "Last night he told me he can't understand why we want anyone else." 

"We'll talk to him again later, right? Sort this out?" Nick asked, voice strained and anxious. When Cody hummed in agreement, Nick leaned back into his arms. "I guess one great kiss can't solve everything." 

Cody kissed the top of his head, then leaned forward and nuzzled Nick's cheek. "I guess not. Worked for us though." He found Nick's mouth and felt Nick's chuckle through their kiss.

****

The phone rang while Nick was in the shower and Cody was dressing down in their room. "Riptide Detective Agency, Murray Bozinsky speaking. How can we help you?" 

There was a brief pause at the other end of the line, then a man said, "This is Andy Dempsey from the Beverly Hills Marriott. Is Cody there?"

"Just a minute." Cody was coming up the stairs, so Murray waved the phone at him and said, quietly, "Dempsey."

Cody took the phone, "Hey, Andy. Were you able to get anything off the security tape?" 

Unable to be still, Murray picked up coffee cups and Pop Tart wrappers while Cody listened. After a few moments, Cody said, "In the hotel? You're sure?" Murray stopped what he was doing. "Absolutely we want to be there. Forty-five minutes? Thirty-five. Okay, we'll hurry." Cody hung up the phone then ran toward the head, shouting, "Hurry it up, Nick. We've got to get back to the Marriott. Five minutes."

While Murray gathered up his papers and tucked them into a satchel, someone knocked at the door. Murray was surprised to see that it was a FedEx driver, but barely had a moment to react. As soon as the door opened the driver thrust an a clipboard and a pen at him, saying, "Riptide Detective Agency?"

Murray blinked. "I'll sign."

When he handed back the clipboard, the driver thrust a large envelope into his hand and left. Murray looked it over; the return address said "Haugabook Haugabook and Stiers, Attorneys at Law." Remembering the legal papers they were waiting for, he slid the envelope into his satchel unopened.

****

They got to the hotel only a few minutes late, and were immediately ushered into the elevator by Dempsey and four uniformed police officers. The cops scowled at Murray dismissively and Cody bristled, but he said nothing. Once introductions were complete, Dempsey said, "They were still in their suite when a maid checked 10 minutes ago. It looks good."

They exited on the fourth floor, Nick, Cody and Murray walking a little behind the officials. As they exited the elevator, Nick pointed to a door and said, "Jenna's room," pitched for Cody and Murray's ears only. 

Dempsey stopped twenty feet down the hall at the next door after Jenna's. "This is it. You guys stay back." He turned to the police officers, "Okay. The suite is registered to a Christopher Massey, and he has four guests. Those five people were involved in an assault against Mr. Ryder last night." He indicated Nick who nodded, grimly embarrassed. "The suite is being paid for by another guest. Our lawyer advises us to keep that name confidential unless and until it becomes relevant." Cody looked at his partners. Nick pointed back down the hallway toward Jenna's room with a questioning look. Murray scowled but said nothing. Unaware of their reactions, Dempsey went on, "You have the hotel's permission to enter that room and conduct any search you deem necessary." 

One of the cops pounded on the door and shouted, "Beverly Hills Police, open up Mr. Massey." There was a flurry of activity on the other side of the door. Dempsey keyed open the lock and stood clear while the four officers, weapons drawn, entered the room, Dempsey close behind. 

About to follow them in, Cody was stopped by Nick and they all went back down the hall. They were followed by shouts, slams, and grunts as the police did their work. Nick said, "We don't have much time. I have an idea." 

Nick stopped at Jenna's door and, gesturing for Cody and Murray to stand on either side, knocked. "Jenna, it's Nick Ryder. I have some information for you." They heard movement on the other side of the door. Nick knocked again, louder. "It's about Brenda. Can I come in?"

After a couple of moments, in which the activity from the other room increased, the door opened. Jenna looked out, less perfectly composed than she was the day before. Her eyes went from the bandage on Nick's temple, to the splint on his wrist before she said, "I didn't expect you to be back so soon, Nick. What do you have to tell me?" She opened the door to him, reluctantly inviting him in. Her lips pursed when she saw Cody and Murray, but she didn't say anything. 

They all entered, Nick followed closely by Cody and Murray. A half-filled suitcase lay open on the bed. Nick raised an eyebrow and asked mildly, "You're leaving? Kind of sudden, isn't it?"

"I just have to get back home," she said, liquid eyed. "After last night I couldn't stand to stay here any more," she said, her lower lip trembling perfectly.

"Were you planning on informing us?" Nick asked. Cody and Murray moved between Jenna and the door, blocking her in the room.

She sidled close to Nick, pressing against him. "I don't know. I didn't think I could talk to you again after last night. I was just crushed." 

_We're not going through this again,_ Cody thought with a snort. He asked, "What about your sister? We've got some good leads and should find her in the next day or so." 

She glanced his way, then looked back at Nick, saying, "It just didn't seem so important anymore."

Murray spoke up, "We'll still find your sister. We've got the papers she needs to sign." He put his hand on the strap of the satchel. "Go on back to Providence. We'll let Mr. Haugabook know when we find her." 

She turned to Murray with look of pure green poison, then back to Nick. "You checked up on me? Nick? You didn't trust me?" She swung to slap him, but before her hand could make contact with the bandage on his temple, Cody grabbed her wrist.

"Hey, none of that. Your guys did enough damage to Nick last night," he said, pulling her away, an arm around her waist.

"You can't prove that," she said, struggling against Cody's grip. "I have no idea what happened to Nick." 

Murray shook his head. "You noticed his bandages, but didn't ask about the injuries? You're crushed about last night, but didn't care enough to even ask what happened?" He leaned toward her and said with an angry smile. "You know what, it doesn't matter if we can prove it, because I bet they can." He gestured with his thumb over his shoulder to the open door. 

Nick flagged down one of the cops. "You'll want this one too. She hired them and paid for their room here." The parade of police officers and handcuffed men stopped.

One of the officers looked at Dempsey, who nodded. "Officially, we're still withholding that information. At least until I talk to the lawyers. However, you have permission to enter and search that room as well." 

****

"Mr. Hall?" Cody said to a tall, good looking man who met them on the lot of Houston Bob's Used Car Deals. 

With a huge grin, Hall said, "Yes, sirs. What can I do for you? Are you looking for a vehicle for work or pleasure?"

Cody held up his hand. "We're not shopping for a car. We're looking for Judson Hall." 

Murray looked up from the papers in his hand. "Actually, we're looking for Brenda Alexander or Brandi Collins and her daughter Alissa Alexander. We're hoping you can help us."

Hall looked around, then said, "Her name is Alissa Hall. She's my daughter." 

Cody and Nick looked at each other and nodded. "We figured as much. Why didn't Brenda put your name on the birth certificate?"

Hall scowled and said, "Her mother wouldn't allow it. She wouldn't allow a lot. Brandi and I came to LA when they tried to stop me from seeing my girl. We got married in Vegas on the way here." His face was grey and pinched, haunted by some deep sadness.

With another glance at his papers, Murray said, "You lived in West Hollywood when you first moved here didn't you?" 

When Hall nodded, Murray winced in sympathy. In his peripheral vision, he was aware of Cody and Nick and their shared look of horror. They'd all gone over the papers in his bag, the information he'd found as well as the documents from Haugabook, while waiting for the police to release them from the scene at the hotel. They knew as well as he did what West Hollywood meant. The Brandi Collins who died in a car accident two years before had lived in West Hollywood. He hoped his sorrow showed in his voice when he said, "We're so sorry for your loss, sir." 

"It was years ago," Hall said, squaring his shoulders, "but thank you. What do you need Alissa for?" 

"Mr. Alexander died recently," Cody said, voice gentle, "We have some papers regarding Alissa's inheritance. As her father, you'll need to sign."

"We don't want anything from them." Hall stood on his pride, jaw up, shoulders back. He looked to Murray like a weather-beaten sea captain on the prow of his ship. "It was bad enough when that bitch sister of hers showed up just before Brandi died." 

Murray made a mental note of yet another lie from their client, but said nothing. It could be dealt with later. 

"You might change your mind about that. Alissa stands to inherit a lot of money." Hall's eyes popped and Nick smiled. "A lot of money. The lawyer can give you all the details."

Hall choked and Murray put the envelope into his hands, with a smile, saying, "Here's the paperwork. Can we give your address and phone number to the lawyer?" Hall nodded, eyes fixed to the envelope. "Call him. You can't get Brandi back, but with this you and Alissa will never have to worry about money again." 

They left Judson Hall looking through the papers in his hand, a bewildered expression on his face.

****

Despite Nick's expectations, the afternoon passed swiftly as they wrapped up the loose ends from the case. Brandi Collins' car accident had been a hit and run and several witnesses reported a redhead in the other car. That information was passed on to the Beverly Hills Police Department. Contacting Jonas Haugabook with the news that they'd located Alissa would have to wait until the next morning, but that would be easily accomplished.

Their final call had been to the pizza parlor for two large pizzas. As soon as the pizzas were delivered and stashed in the oven to keep them warm, they cast off, Cody steering the boat toward a secluded anchorage about thirty minutes away. Nick stayed with Cody in the wheelhouse while they were cruising, quietly taking comfort in each other.

When the anchors were set, Nick and Cody set up their dinner on the deck, moving with easy coordination. The night was warm, the air quiet, and they were alone in their cove. The only noises were the cries of shorebirds and the occasional distant puff from a dolphin. 

Arm in arm, they looked over the setting. Nick looked to Cody, glowing in the bright moonlight, and said, "I love you, you know? This is great." 

Cody's smile made the moonlight seem twenty times brighter. "Let's go get Murray and make it perfect."

****

After a few minutes looking for his roommates, Murray found them in the salon, passing through on the way to his room. "I was looking for you. I'd like to..." He took a deep breath. "I'd like to ask you some questions. I think...well, that is to say, I'm pretty sure I..." He blushed. So much for his carefully thought out plan to just ask Nick and Cody what they wanted. 

Nick smiled. "We were looking for you too, Boz, dinner's ready out on deck. The pizza's hot, the beer's cold and the case is solved. Let's relax." He gestured toward the door to the rear deck. "You were really looking for us?" 

"Yeah. We, ah, we need to talk." When Murray saw the reaction the others had to his words, Nick's hollow smile, Cody's shoulders tensed for a firing squad, he added, quickly, "Don't worry, I think it'll be good. Umm, that is, I hope it will be." 

When Murray stepped out onto the deck, the beauty of the scene took him by surprise. The moonlight glowed silver across the water complemented by several small candles on the table. The candles were interspersed among the otherwise prosaic pizza boxes, beer bottles, and paper napkins, but they reflected in brass and fiberglass and water, becoming a thousand golden sparks. He turned with a smile. "This is boss, guys. I like the candles. Makes it special." He looked at the pizza. "Should we eat before we talk?"

After a brief glance at Cody, Nick said, "I don't think I can eat until I know what you're going to say." Cody nodded. 

They arranged themselves so that Murray sat opposite Nick and Cody, the table pushed off to the side. Murray looked from one to the other of them. "Can you just answer some questions for me?" He looked down at his hands, knotted together in his lap. "What...why..." He sighed. "I don't know what the right question is... What do you want?" 

After an eternity of seconds, Cody took his hand. "We want **you** Murray," Cody said, sounding confused. 

"No, that's not...okay, that's nice." He fought to keep from getting distracted by his reaction to that. _So close, but so far._ "Thanks, I guess I appreciate that." He looked at both of them, Cody leaning toward him, holding his hand, Nick looking stern and distant. He looked away, about to leave, but found courage in the sparkling candlelight. _All this effort must mean something, right?_ He went on, speaking through the tightness in his throat, "But what do you want me for? Because, I've got to tell you, if you just want me for a night, or for sometimes, or to spice things up once in a while, I don't think...no, I know I can't do that. I'm sorry. I wish I could want that, but I just, I just can't." Cody's shock and Nick's horror at his words registered even while he was still speaking. "I love you guys too much."

Nick and Cody were there faster than he thought possible. Arms around his shoulders, Nick said, "No! No. We want you to be part..." His words died and he looked at Cody for help.

Speaking softly as he moved close, Cody said, "Oh, Murray. We love you. I love you. We want you to be part of us, our family." 

Murray looked over at Nick who smiled and nodded. "Yeah, Boz, we love you. I thought you knew." Nick cupped Murray's cheeks in his hands, and chuckled. "No wonder. I get it now. You didn't want to be our sex toy," Murray's cheeks burned hot but he nodded, "and, God...We thought you didn't want *us*. That you loved us, but not enough to actually want to be..." He leaned forward so their foreheads were touching, eyes locked, reaching Murray's soul with the intensity of his gaze. 

"You asked me a question in the truck last night," Cody said. It was hard to look away from Nick, smiling at him just like...just like after their kiss the night before, Murray thought with a dawning sense of wonder. But Cody was just as beautiful and compelling, though serious, eyes shadowed. "You asked why you, remember?" Murray nodded. "I didn't get to answer you then, but the answer's always been because we need you. I love you, too." Murray, caught in the glittering depths of Cody's eyes, just nodded. "We figured out a while ago that we're not really us without you." 

Before he could react Murray found himself standing, sandwiched between the other men, enveloped in strong arms. They held onto each other for a while, swaying with the movement of the boat and a shared internal rhythm. After an immeasurable length of time, Cody and Nick stepped away, leaving Murray wobbly and cold. They each took one of his hands, forming a circle.

Cody said, "Boz, Murray, I'm sorry we handled this so badly. We thought that you'd figure out what...That you knew..." He stopped talking and looked down at the deck.

Nick shook his head and bumped Cody with his shoulder. "So much for the smooth talker. Look, if we didn't want you to be a permanent part of our life, for better and for worse and all that jazz, we wouldn't have made a move. We wouldn't do that to you." 

Murray nodded, completely stunned. "You mean you want to...? With me?" He smiled so wide his cheeks hurt. Nick and Cody grinned back. Without Murray being aware how it happened they wound out in a tight hug again, pressed hard against each other. Nick was nuzzling his neck while Cody caressed his cheeks and lips, feathering light touches over his skin. Murray started to drift away.

Nick's nip on his neck was a surprise and he shuddered a gasp. Nick smoothed over the bite with a lick, then said, his words a caress on Murray's skin, "Questions all answered now?" Shivering from the softness of Nick's lips, the adoration in Cody's touch, Murray just nodded. "Good. Then let us make love to you." 

Cody slipped his fingers into Murray's pocket and pulled him close, so their erections were just touching. He could feel the heat, the hardness, even through all their clothing and sighed. Cody rocked slowly, fingers exploring the soft hollow of Murray's hip through the thin fabric of his pocket. "Oh, oh, that's nice," Murray whispered.

Cody chuckled low. His voice was breathless when he said, "It'll get better, I promise," then leaned in for a kiss. The rough tickle of his mustache was a perfect contrast to the softness of his lips. 

Nick, holding Murray from behind, bumped his erection against Murray's ass, just teasing. After a couple of rocking thrusts, he started unbuttoning Murray's shirt, exposing his skin to the cool air. Murray could feel the goosebumps rising, but Nick warmed him again with his hand, stroking so hot and good. Murray shivered and moaned into Cody's mouth. _So good._ Nick bumped him again and said, "Maybe we should take this inside. It's chilly out here."

****

They went inside to the warm air and soft bed of Nick and Cody's cabin. Murray paused at the threshold of the room like it was a barrier, wrapping his arms around his chest. Cody turned to him, "Boz? You okay?"

Murray looked from Nick to Cody, dark eyes glittering, and said, "You guys...you're sure? You've got to be sure." He took his shirt off in awkward jerks, then started working on his belt, stripping in front of them. 

He wasn't teasing or arousing. Nick could tell that. He looked embarrassed and scared and Nick had the uncomfortable feeling Murray was presenting them with a reason to change their minds. And that reason was himself. His belt hit the floor with a clatter. _Oh, Boz,_ Nick thought. 

Cody took Murray's hands off his jeans, holding them against his chest for a moment before saying, "Murray, we're very sure. We want you. And we're not going to change our minds. Not now, not ever." Murray grabbed hold of Cody's shirt, but said nothing, keeping his eyes down.

Nick, standing behind Cody, added, "And sure as hell not for the reasons you're thinking." Nick turned Murray so they were facing and went on, "We've seen you in your boxers, in those awful plaid shorts, in nothing but a towel," he licked his lips at that memory. "We've even seen your zombie look first thing in the morning when you're not really awake. We love you. You're beautiful." 

Murray nodded and looked up, his brown eyes glimmering in the dim light. "O...okay. Sorry. You're just so," he looked from Nick to Cody, "you're so incredible. Both of you. I'm having some trouble...umm...believing this, that's all."

"Believe it," Nick said, and stroked Murray's side, a calming touch. Murray's shivering slowed and Nick repeated the caress, thumbing a dark nipple. Murray swallowed hard. "What do you want?" Nick asked. He ran his hand over the growing bulge in Murray's jeans. "What have you been imagining?"

Murray gasped and thrust into Nick's hand. His voice shook when he said, "What...whatever you want. Just...please, make it real. I need to know that this is real." 

"Okay, we can do that," Nick said, dropping to his knees in front of Murray, unzipping his blue jeans in a smooth move. As the peeled them off, he licked and nuzzled at the exposed skin, tracing down the perfectly defined trail of hair that lead from just below Murray's navel down to the edge of the bush of coarse dark hair, just barely exposed. 

Murray groaned and jerked, probably involuntarily, as Nick mouthed the base of his cock. Murray's stomach muscles were fluttering and he was breathing in quick gasps and Nick wanted to keep him like this forever. Murray's hips rolled in an awkward thrust, and Nick looked up to see his lovers kissing hard and deep. Cody's hands were stroking the planes of the lean face even as he was devouring Murray's mouth. Murray's hands were still balled in Cody's shirt and he was trying to pull it off with uncoordinated tugs. 

Nick's cocked jumped at the sight, and at the sound of Cody's groan as he tried to get even deeper into Murray's mouth. _Oh, God, that's so beautiful. I'm never gonna get tired of seeing the two most..._ Murray moaned, distracting Nick from his thoughts. Adjusting himself in his pants, Nick settled back to watch, stroking himself. 

After a moment, Murray pulled away from Cody gasping for air and looked down at Nick. "You...Oh...you," his eyes widened when he saw Nick's hand, still moving in his lap. He licked his lips. "You stopped."

Noting that Cody and Murray both had their attention riveted to where he was rubbing himself, Nick smiled. "Different kind of fun, that's all." Nick slowly unzipped his jeans, watching as two sets of eyes dilated.

"I...ah...I really liked what you were...Oh...ohh," Murray moaned as Nick drew his cock out and gave it a couple of slow pulls. Murray's eyes glazed over as he watched, unblinking. Cody snorted and licked at the tendons of Murray's neck. When that got no response, he bit down, sucking hard. Murray's head dropped to the side with a groaned, "Oh, God, yes."

Nick let go of his cock. He could come just from watching his partners together, more stimulation than that was just going to end things too soon. _More fun to play with Murray anyway._ He went back to Murray's stomach, licking around the navel, as he slid off the jeans and briefs, easing them over Murray's cock. He growled when he saw it, slender and long and plum colored with blood, and his tongue was out to taste before the jeans hit the ground. He licked over the head and Murray jolted like he'd been hit by lightning. 

"God, you are gorgeous," Nick said, then licked a long wet swipe from root to tip. Murray's hips bucked and he pulled more desperately at Cody's shirt, making hot little noises into Cody's mouth.

Cody backed out of the kiss, leaving Murray wide-eyed and gasping, his cock twitching in Nick's hand. Cody ran a hand over Murray's chest, from his throat, along a collar bone, then down over a nipple to the top of his sharp hip bone. Murray moaned low in his chest. "Nick and I are way behind here. How about we all get naked and in bed?"

Once they were all undressed, they tumbled into the bed in a tangle of moving arms, kissing lips. They wound out with Murray leaning back against Nick, who was sitting up against the wall. Nick stroked and teased Murray's nipples to hardness while watching Cody drive Murray mad with swipes of his tongue and his soft prickling mustache over Murray's hips, his balls. Murray was gasping for air, shaking with the beating of his heart. His skin was flushed with arousal, rosy pink across his chest. Nick groaned, licking and biting at ear, neck, shoulder, anywhere he could reach. 

Cody's first touch on Murray's cock, caused him to jerk and arch, his weight pressing into Nick's chest on the same side as the broken rib. That time, Nick's groan had nothing to do with pleasure.

Murray jolted away to the other side of the bed, out of reach of both of them. "Nick?" The aroused flush that had warmed Murray's skin disappeared completely. "Are you okay? Did I hurt you? I hurt you, didn't I?" 

Relieved of the weight on his chest, Nick took a deep breath. It ached, of course, but no worse than it had all day. _Fine._ "No. It's okay. Let me just move a little." He shifted lower on the bed and tried to draw Murray back into his arms. But Murray stayed in his crouch just out of Nick's reach, a look of self-reproach on his face. Cody reached for him and pulled him back as Nick said again, "I'm fine. Please."

Murray nodded, then touched the bandage on Nick's wrist, then his temple, then his chest. Almost touches, like he could read the pain with his fingertips. When he'd caressed all of the bandaged areas, he leaned down and kissed the exposed bruises, even some that Nick didn't realize he had, each one loved until all of the pain was gone. Nick closed his eyes and sank into the feeling of being cherished and the sound of Murray's oh, so faint whispers, "Love you, love you both. Never want to lose you." With a small corner of his brain, Nick wondered if Murray even knew he was talking. 

Focused on Murray's healing touch, Nick lost track of Cody, until he did something that made Murray throw his head back and howl in rapture. _I never thought I'd hear Murray make a noise like that._ A drop of pre-come scalded his belly; Nick didn't know if it was his or Murray's. It didn't matter. 

He twisted to see what Cody was doing, but he could only catch a glimpse of a head at Murray's ass and tanned fingers gripping so hard they were leaving marks in the milky skin. _Oh, God, he's rimming Murray._ Nick groaned, remembering the first time Cody'd done that to him, remembering the feeling of being completely unmade by the relentless perfection. 

His cock ached, but instead of reaching for himself, Nick pulled Murray down into a kiss, licking at the corner of his lips. Murray tried to respond, but he was panting and whimpering--too lost to concentrate on the kiss. Nick stroked his eyelids and cheeks, wondering if he looked that far gone when Cody did that to him. When his fingers brushed over the open, gasping mouth, Murray took them in, licking and sucking. After a few seconds, Murray gasped and lost the thread of what he was doing, slipping back into subspace. Nick slid his fingers out of Murray's mouth and wrapped his spit-slick hand around Murray's leaking cock. Murray jerked and shouted, thrusting into his hand. Nick tightened his grip and when Murray whimpered again said, "Cody, you've got him so close. He's almost there," encouraging both of them. God, he wanted to feel Murray come, to hear the noises he'd make. 

Nick might have been as disappointed as Murray when Cody backed away. Keening at the loss, Murray banged his head on Nick's shoulder. Nick eased off his grip on Murray's cock. His other hand soothed with long gliding strokes down the spare back. "He'll be back, it's okay, it's good." Over Murray's shaking shoulder he could see Cody fumbling with the KY jelly, slicking up his fingers. 

Cody nodded that he was ready and Nick held Murray tight. He wished that they'd taken the time to find out if Murray'd ever been with a man before, if he knew what to expect. Murray stiffened in his arms with a choked gasp and Nick gripped his cock more firmly to distract him. With a shivery exhalation, Murray relaxed again. A few moments later, Murray shuddered again and started to rock back onto Cody's fingers, Nick looked over his shoulder at Cody, intently concentrating. Cody looked up at him and winked with a devilish smile. Murray arched back with a shout, then started babbling, louder and louder, "Please Cody please. Oh oh oh... More more more. Nick, please." Nick knew that feeling too, the kaleidoscope of pleasure when Cody massaged his prostate. He groaned. 

Cody leaned forward, licking up Murray's spine, blanketing his body. Murray rolled his spine into the caress as he went, arching into Cody's mouth without interrupting his movement onto his finger. _The first time I've ever seen Murray look graceful,_ Nick thought, wishing Cody'd make him do that again, until he heard Cody's whisper, just as desperate as Murray's shouts, "Soon, babe. Not yet, you're not ready yet. Soon. Want you so bad." Nick groaned at the perfection of their bodies curled together, golden and white, honey and milk. Their voices cried out in perfect harmony. 

Murray started to thrust, shallowly at first then deeper, rubbing his cock through the slick of pre-come on Nick's belly. Nick was close to coming himself, completely caught up in Murray's pleasure and the desperate joy on Cody's face. Ignoring the pain in his rib, Nick wriggled a little to the left, so that Murray's next thrust brought their cocks into perfect alignment. _Oh, oh, God._ He groaned and met Murray's next thrust, then added his own voice to the music in the room, "Cody, hurry. He's ready, I'm ready. We need you now..."

Cody's eyes met Nick's and he nodded. "Yes, God, yes. Hold on," he said, pulling his fingers out and reaching for the KY again. 

Murray shook over Nick, arms wobbling, and making little pained mewling noises. Worried, Nick kissed him to get his attention, then asked, "Murray, do you want Cody to do this? To...?" He paused, not sure how to ask the question. 'Penetrate' sounded too clinical, but Murray might freak at the idea of 'fucking'.

Before he'd figured it out though, Murray shook his head, not in answer, just to clear it, and said, voice hoarse, "Yesyesyesgodyes. Now. Please, Cody, please. Now!"

Murray gasped as Cody entered him in one smooth thrust. His brown eyes flew open and he arched back gulping for air. The look of shocked ecstasy on Murray's face was almost enough to make Nick come and he moaned. Cody whispered, "Oh, Murray, yes." Nick pulled Murray's head down to his shoulder, held him close, held him together, while Cody fucked him. It wasn't going to take long; it couldn't possibly. They'd been building toward this for days. Maybe even since New Orleans. It couldn't last long. 

After a moment he slid one hand between himself and Murray, and gripped both of their cocks, molding them against each other. Murray gasped again and thrust into his hand with a deep moan. All of the the sensations, the sounds and sights of their lovemaking, combined with the feel of Murray's cock hard and slick, throbbing against his own into a haze of ecstasy. Nick went over the edge into orgasm with a shout. The extra slickness from Nick's come eased Murray's thrusts and after couple more, he shouted in a broken voice, "God, Nick, Cody, aaah, yes," as he came into Nick's hand. Cody pulled Nick up into a fierce kiss over Murray's shoulder, hand gripping his hair. He grunted into the kiss and shivered and Nick could almost feel the pulsing in his own passage as Cody came. 

Nick was grateful later that Murray had the presence of mind to make sure they didn't all collapse on his broken rib. He was so overwhelmed with the experience that he would never have remembered it himself. Murray rolled off to the side, almost throwing Cody off the bed as they went. Sleepy, sated laughter followed as they organized themselves, finally winding out with Nick and Cody flanking Murray. 

As Cody kissed one of Murray's hands, licking the long fingers with a pleased smile at the corners of his mouth, Nick stroked Murray's side and his stomach, just because he could finally touch whenever he wanted. Over Murray's head he and Cody held hands, completing a circuit he could feel humming between them. 

Murray had a happy, silly, just-fucked smile that made Nick grin. After a peaceful few minutes, some thought wrinkled Murray's forehead and he asked, "What about our dinner?" 

Cody pulled himself away from Murray's hand and said, "We did get your favorite kind of pizza, Boz. Mushroom and anchovy from Pasta Nostra. Nothing but the best. Do you want to get up?"

Murray kissed Cody then Nick before settling back down, one hand resting on each of them. "In a minute," he said, "I'm happy here right now." 

**** Epilogue ****

Cody splashed through the water to where Murray lay on his stomach on a beach blanket, reading. He was covered head to ankles, hat, long-sleeved shirt, jeans. Only his feet were bare to the sun and salt breezes. Cody chuckled at the sight; he and Nick were both wearing shorts and barechested.

As he settled on the blanket, Cody tickled one foot then chuckled when Murray jumped and yelped. Cody turned his attention to dusting sand off his feet and asked, "Hey, Boz, what'cha got there?" 

On his side now, Murray said, "The Times. There's an article about Jenna," he pointed to the page, "she's been charged with Brandi's murder." 

"Yeah?" Cody moved to look, his hand on Murray's hip. He skimmed the article for a few moments, "It says here the Providence police have re-opened Mrs. Alexander's death as well." 

Murray squirmed under his hand. Responding to the request, Cody slid his fingers into Murray's pocket and smiled at the glazed look he earned when he moved his fingers along the hollow of Murray's hip. When Cody stopped moving, Murray cleared his throat and said, "I hadn't gotten that far in the article." He looked to the Ebbtide, anchored in the cove a short way away. The Riptide was further out, in the deeper water at the other side of their little haven. "What's Nick doing?" 

"Trying to figure out if your cam design can be adapted for the Mimi's engines," Cody answered.

"Do helicopter engines even have cams?" Murray asked, wriggling again. 

Cody ignored the invitation to slide his hand further into Murray's pocket, and said, "I dunno. I asked him if the pistons could handle the extra power. He told me to go away. Bad question, I guess. I left him sketching something." 

"I don't know anything about helicopter engines. He knows that, right?" Murray said, holding Cody's hand in place. 

"He'll be disappointed if you don't. After the way the Ebbtide moved today, he thinks you know everything, my friend." Murray's blush and lowered eyes made Cody smile. As a reward, he stroked the edge of Murray's cock, now half hard, through his pocket. When Murray sighed, Cody said, "C'mere," and pulled him into a kiss.

Murray responded eagerly, exploring Cody's mouth with his tongue as his fingers roved over Cody's side with strong touches. A moment later Murray hummed and rolled them over so that he was leaning over Cody. He licked a swirling path along Cody's side. 

Relaxing into the unexpected pleasure, Cody said, "Ohh, ohh, that's...that's..." His voice trailed away when the licking turned into a deep sucking kiss on a sensitive spot Cody hadn't even known he had. Cody tried to look but Murray held him in place with his hand.

Murray whispered, "Be still for a minute. Please? You have these," he nipped gently and Cody writhed against him, "muscles on your sides." He licked again and Cody realized Murray was tracing the edges of those muscles with his tongue. _Mmmmm..._ "I've been wanting to do this for years," Murray said, softly, his lips brushing over the skin as he spoke. 

That was possibly the hottest thing Murray'd ever said, and Cody groaned. He slid his hand under Murray's shirt to touch the tender skin of his lower back. 

Murray rolled into the touch without stopping his exploration of Cody's side. When he found another sensitive spot, Cody moaned. Murray stayed there for a while exploring with tongue and teeth and mumbling movements of his lips, until Cody was writhing against him, breathing hard. 

After not nearly long enough, Murray pulled away, his lips wet. "Maybe we should wait for Nick," he said, his voice full of doubt. 

Cody wrapped his hand around the back of Murray's neck, encouraging him back to his task. He tried to be gentle, but he was almost desperate for more of Murray's mouth on his skin. With an apologetic squeeze, he said, "Don't stop, please. Nick'll see what we're up to and come join us soon. That feels so..."

From the edge of the blanket, Nick said, "Keep going, Murray. I'm here." He dropped to his knees, wrapped one arm around Murray's waist and leaned over his shoulder to kiss Cody deep and hard. Murray returned to his side with a perfect sharp nip.

Cody groaned at the dual pleasure then groaned again when Murray started panting into his skin. He spent a second wondering what Nick was doing to Murray before losing himself again in sensation. _So good, perfect...aah...do that again, Murray..._

Waves rolled on the beach and a seagull turned overhead as they dressed a while later. The sun was almost down and the off-shore breeze was chilly. Once they were dressed, Cody steered the zodiac back to the Riptide, watching Nick and Murray talking in the front of the small craft. The words "Mimi" and "rotors" were just audible over the engine at his side. Murray pulled a pen out of his pocket, looked around for a second, then started sketching on the palm of his hand. Cody smiled, then grinned as he suddenly realized how good, how wonderful, his life was now. Cody laughed and Murray looked back at him, a silly grin slowly spreading over his face. Nick put his arm around Murray's shoulder and pulled him back into their conversation with a quick wink at Cody. _Life is definitely good._


End file.
